ESCAPE ROUTE

PLAN NOW TO EVACUATE A RUINED CITY AND EVADE A CATASTROPHE

- RYAN LEE PRICE

Post-World War II Los Angeles was an economic boomtown and a target for nuclear annihilation by the Soviets. The population of Los Angeles in 1950 was nearly two million people with double that living in the expansive county that stretched some 50 miles across. To evacuate that many people, the infant freeway system could only rely on three narrow highways out of town. To alleviate this, it was decided that the best method was to construct a series of roads over the San Gabriel Mountains to the Mojave Desert beyond.

The people of Los Angeles, in the event that they must evacuate ahead of some impending doom, were left to rely on themselves. A real-world example of this fate happened in Houston in 2005. Hurricane Rita struck just weeks after Hurricane Katrina pummeled New Orleans. The then-mayor of Houston, Bill White, called for an evacuation of the entire city. Highways were choked with traffic, fights between motorists broke out, people died from hyperthermia in the intense heat, and 23 nursing home patients were killed as a bus evacuating them caught fire and exploded near Dallas.

Because of this, mayors and other officials rarely order evacuations, despite the dangers the population will face. However, even if no order is given, you may decide that it is better for your family’s safety to remove yourselves to the safety and solitude of some out-of-the-way location. In that case, you’d better be ready to evacuate.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

As it has been shown in history, evacuation announcements come at a moment’s notice, and having your gear ready means you’ll be that much ahead of the crowds already choking the roads out of town.