Although Buffalo may be cushioned from the effects of tropical storms and West Coast earthquakes, if disaster were to hit the region, the man to turn to may not be the president of FEMA, but rather Daniel Hess, a UB professor and expert in evacuation.
Hess, an assistant professor in the Urban and Regional Planning and Geography Departments, uses his research on the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav to recommend plans to emergency evacuation departments in cities around the country.
Many cities have safety measures planned, but they may not be the best possible measures to take, according to Hess.
"Most places aren't planning adequately for people without cars," he said. "This means people set up in institutions like nursing homes or hospitals, as well as children, don't have readily available means to evacuate."
Hess explained that many emergency planners are promoting an arrangement that has people stay put in times of disaster rather than evacuate the area, which can prove to be detrimental.
He cited the Mississauga train derailment in 1979, where pollutant chemicals were released into the atmosphere around the city in Ontario, Canada, as an example of why evacuation routes are necessary.
"People needed to be evacuated from the area immediately," Hess said. "The danger of remaining idle meant the people would die from breathing in the chemicals."
Through his research, Hess has discovered some possible glitches in UB's evacuation techniques, the largest being a lack of proper transportation for all campus residents, as many students do not have vehicles.
"You can call every bus company and get everyone out," Hess said. "But if everyone in Buffalo needed to get out and everyone used the same bus companies, then there would be problems."
Hess' desire to formulate better evacuation plans stems from his experience in New Orleans and the areas hit by both Hurricane Katrina and Gustav.
"Upon my first arrival at the Katrina site after the catastrophe occurred the city was closed down but the flood was still there," Hess said. "It was strange to see such a prominent city with no people inhabiting it, but that's when I knew I wanted to be a part of the research that helps better equip people for future disasters."
The outcomes of past disasters help define the policies for potential problems in the future.
"New York City has developed a walk-out plan for leaving the city over bridges and ferries because it's too densely populated for automobile traffic," Hess said. "Most places less densely populated will simply pack up their cars and leave. This thinking, however, is what left so many people behind in Katrina; many people who didn't have cars were left behind."
Cities cannot simply think of how to get people out, but also must consider the reception location that the people will be moved to, according to Hess.
"Informal relationships people have with their ideas of evacuating are not enough," Hess said. "Emergency planners have gotten lazy by thinking it seemed so surreal for any type of disaster to hit their covered area, but their job is exactly for these types of emergencies."
