KEY POINT
Understand the risks during an evacuation or SIP or an incident requiring both.
All protective actions involve some degree of risk. In order to be considered appropriate, the protective action must carry less risk than the risk from the hazard.
Risks resulting from evacuation include:
- If not completed quickly enough, evacuation could cause the evacuees to be exposed to the hazard.
- Risks arise as a result of the mode of transportation chosen by the evacuees.
- In areas of high population density, a large-scale evacuation could cause congestion and gridlock on the roads, rendering the evacuation ineffective.
- Weather conditions could change, causing an evacuation to become ineffective or endangering evacuees.
- Evacuations involving the elderly or people with special needs could cause these populations to become emotionally agitated, might result in their injury if they fall while evacuating, or could expose them to conditions that they are ill-prepared to handle.