1.0 Introduction

This document is part of a study on "Communicating with the Public Using ATIS during Disasters" being conducted by Battelle for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Operations and the U.S. DOT ITS Joint Program Office. The purpose of the study is to examine what information needs to be communicated to evacuees and other travelers under disaster conditions and how the advanced traveler information system (ATIS) assets of a state's department of transportation (DOT) or other transportation agency can be effectively used to deliver such information.

This document details a concept of operations for dissemination of information to the traveling public during disaster events. The concept of operations report is intended to illustrate how agencies need to interface with each other and what data and information need to be shared to effectively manage and deliver traveler information during disasters. It will encompass the major systems and operational roles and responsibilities of participating agencies included in the delivery of traveler information during disasters in various environments. The concept of operations is intended to address who, what, when, where, why and how the system needs to operate to deliver critical and useful information to the public using available ATIS during major no-notice events or disasters. Addressing and documenting this type of information has become even more critical due to the aftermath of various types of disasters that have occurred in the United States in the past several years ranging from major hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires and the post-9/11 threat of terrorism. However, it is important to note that the focus of this concept of operations is on no-notice types of disasters. Based on the knowledge gained from various sources and documentation, a common definition for a disaster has been applied to this study and includes the following characteristics:

• Suddenness – unforeseen, unpredictable
• Scale – has large impact and involves a large part of the public
• Institutional response – beyond the normal capacity for coping; involves many institutions
• Prolonged duration of effect – impact does not quickly dissipate
• Uncertainty in behavioral response – outside of normal range of experience.

This document provides an overview of the various stakeholders, their roles and responsibilities, the type of information exchanged between them, some operational needs and requirements, and a system overview for agencies that need to communicate with the public using traveler information mechanisms during disasters as characterized above.

This document is NOT intended to serve as an emergency response plan or an incident management plan nor detail an operational concept for a specific system or program. It is, however, assumed that it will serve as a guide and a template for developing these types of documents.

The basis for the development of the concept of operations includes several reports conducted as part of the overall study on how agencies communicate with the public using ATIS during disasters¹. This document will also be used for reviewing functional requirements currently in the National ITS Architecture and developing additional requirements where necessary.

1.1 Organization of the Document

The remainder of this chapter discusses the purpose, approach, goals and objectives of the document and an overall vision for the concept. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the intended audience and a list of references used in developing the document.

• Chapter 2 provides details on the stakeholders and discusses a user-oriented description, the organizational structure, and interrelationships among them. This chapter also describes an existing concept of operations system overview.
• Chapter 3 focuses on the operational needs and requirements associated with disseminating information to the public during disasters.
• Chapter 4 outlines the components of an ideal system drawing upon and enhancing the existing system described in Chapter 2.
• Chapter 5 discusses operational concept examples for an urban disaster and a rural disaster.
• Chapter 6 provides a brief conclusion.

1.2 Purpose of the Document

The purpose of this concept of operations document is to provide a high-level system overview of who, what, when, where, why, and how agencies and data need to interact and operate to deliver appropriate and necessary traveler information to the public during disasters using ATIS devices and mechanisms. Its purpose is also to provide a vision for the current and future systems through an architectural view of system and subsystem level interactions and interfaces along with ensuring that it is suitable for both metropolitan/urban and rural areas. The document will also describe roles and responsibilities associated with participating agencies and people and serve as a source to collect and verify functional requirements that can be used as a basis to develop system design plans for specific project needs. It is envisioned that this document will be a "living" document that will enable updates and future enhancements.

1.3 Context

It is important that the reader understands that this document does not encompass all the variations and context settings on to whom, how and what information gets delivered to the public during the timeline of a disaster (pre-event, during the event, and post event). The variations evoke the concept of operations to be developed in many ways, and it is very difficult to comprehensively document that in one report. Based on the knowledge gathered, the different contexts can be summarized as:

• Types of Disasters – For the purposes of this document, disasters are defined as sudden, no-notice events of prolonged duration caused through a natural or man-made means and requiring an institutional and behavioral response beyond the norm. The following are examples of disasters that fit this definition: tornados, earthquakes, forest fires, tsunamis, flash flooding, chemical releases and biological events. These events can occur in either a rural or urban setting.
• Agency Organization – There are many different approaches to organizing public agencies, and specifically transportation agencies. For example, some have a very strong centralized approach, while others do not. Additionally, the geographic area of responsibility may also vary. For example, some DOTs maintain all road types from interstates to local roads, while some are more limited. Furthermore, some agencies that operate ATIS are not transportation agencies at all, as in the case of some multi-agency organizations or metropolitan planning organizations that act as information collectors and disseminators. The focus of this document is not on who the ATIS operator is, but rather what it does in the context of providing information during extreme situations.
• Centralized vs. Decentralized Traveler Information – There are divergent approaches to providing traveler information across transportation agencies. The two basic approaches are centralized, with all decisions and dissemination tools controlled in one location, versus decentralized, where a state is broken into fairly autonomous districts or regions, each having significant control over the resources available, including ATIS. As each approach is common and accepted practice, this document does not address this topic.
• Relationships with Private Media – The private media, typically broadcast radio and television, have differing relationships with public sector ATIS operators. In some locations, the media are recognized as key providers of information to travelers on a daily basis. In these instances, media outlets are often provided data feeds and video feeds, and may have reporting desks at regional or statewide transportation management centers (TMCs). Conversely, other ATIS operators do not have the same level of interaction or relationship with the media, especially on a daily basis.
• Unified Command Structure – For this document, it is assumed that readers are familiar with, and/or have direct experience with, the Unified Command Structure (UCS). This approach to incident management is not a new concept, and thus, the details of it are not fully described in this document. The UCS is recognized as the accepted organizational structure for handling large-scale incidents and disasters that involve multiple agencies and organizations.

Within this context, this document is intended to serve as a starting point to assist and guide in the development of detailed lower-level descriptions of different systems along with functional requirements and design specifications.

1.4 Approach

The approach for developing the concept of operations for disaster information dissemination was a workshop that convened a panel of subject matter experts. The expert panel consisted of seventeen individuals drawn from transportation, transit, regional planning or coordinating organizations, police, fire, emergency management, and private sector traveler information providers. Appendix A provides a list of participants who attended the workshop. The objective of the workshop, held in Houston, Texas, in October of 2005, was to synthesize diverse but pertinent expertise into a high-level concept of operations as the basis for the planning and management of traveler information during disasters. The panel provided their perspectives on operational roles and responsibilities and information flows leading to effective information delivery.

Additionally, a facilitated discussion was organized around disaster scenarios to examine issues surrounding the concept of operations. Scenarios included both urban and rural conditions for collection and dissemination of information and were based on case study sites that were conducted earlier as part of the overall project.

The types of issues examined during the workshop discussions included:

• What information is needed, by whom, when, and how?
• How does information currently flow among the parties that generate or use information?
• How does the type of disaster affect the information needed and how it flows?
• Are there sufficient means/mechanisms currently available to provide accurate and timely information to the public? What has been successfully used and what has not worked?
• What are the procedures that agencies follow to gather, coordinate, and disseminate information in normal situations and how does that differ in disaster situations?
• What is the protocol that agencies follow for providing information to the media and the public? Is information always relayed through a public information officer (PIO) or Joint Information Center (JIC)?
• What problems arise with regard to information and how are they resolved, such as miscommunication, rumor control, inconsistent information, and delayed information?
• Are there agreements in place that describe the roles and responsibilities of agencies regarding information dissemination during major disasters?
• Are there ways in which DOT's ATIS assets can serve the purpose of other agencies involved in the response? How would this be coordinated?

The results of the discussion of the scenarios at the workshop were used in the development of a concept of operations. The concept of operations was reviewed by the panel members and modified as appropriate. It will serve as input to support the currently identified functional requirements in the National ITS Architecture and to guide the next steps of the overall project.

1.5 Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of the project is to have systems in place throughout the country that can effectively provide information to travelers during a disaster situation. The objective of this document is to provide assistance and guidance to regions and individual agencies as they develop traveler information systems with a specific focus on traveler information dissemination during disasters. This includes both natural and manmade disasters in both urban and rural settings.

1.6 Overall Vision

The vision is that there would be systems in place throughout the country with appropriate coverage to provide useful traveler information during a disaster situation. Traveler information is disseminated to the public in a variety of ways that are controlled by both public and private entities. As comprehensive ATIS systems are developed, they would reach as much of the impacted population as possible and provide consistent and concise information regarding disaster-related travel and other information as appropriate. Information would be focused on those in the immediate disaster area as well as those in the surrounding areas that may be impacted.

1.7 Audience

Based on the intelligence gathered from the previous task reports in the project, it is intended that the principal target audience for this document will be transportation agencies and other emergency planning and response agencies in the public sector, as they are responsible for developing and implementing a system for communicating with the public during disasters. These public sector agencies include:

• Transportation agencies/authorities
  • State DOTs
  • Turnpike/Toll
  • Regional MPOs
  • City and County transportation departments
  • Transit and other modes (i.e., trucking)
• Police (State and local)
• Emergency management
• Fire departments.

Another important audience for the document will be the private organizations that are also involved in delivering information to the public, including those that currently provide traveler information over the Internet, radio and television broadcast, and other means (e.g., OnStar). There also will be intermediaries for the document, such as associations like AAA and convention and tourism bureaus, that represent targeted audiences, and those intermediaries should also be recipients of the guidance so they can disseminate it to their memberships.

1.8 Referenced Documents

Several documents, reports, and guides were used as references in developing this concept of operations. These documents are listed below:

• Guide for the Preparation of Operations Concept Documents (ANSI/AIAA G-043-1992)
• IEEE Guide for Information Technologies – System Definition – Con Ops Document (IEEE 1362-1998)
• Developing and Using a Concept of Operations in Transportation Management Systems, FHWA (December 2004)
• Concept of Operations for Emergency Transportation Operations, FHWA (January 2004)
• iFlorida Concept of Operations (September 2003)
• CLARUS Concept of Operations (June 2005).