Dear Jim:
I am writing in response to the recent posting entitled: Urban Evacuation--When The Plan is No Plan At All.
Several years ago when driving North out of Baltimore City, I noticed some blue and white signs which said: "Emergency Evacuation Route" They had a big blue arrow pointing North and nothing else. The next time we were in the City I began looking for the signs. I found them and began following them all the way. They ran for miles out of the heart of the City and then just stopped ... somewhere near the City line. But, the one thing I notice for sure is that they were pointing directly toward my area.
So, I've looked up Baltimore's Emergency Plan.
Here it is: "Where do the evacuation signs posted in the City lead? The evacuation signs will lead you out of the city - They do not lead to bomb shelters." The web site is now almost 10 years old. The link to Maryland Office of Domestic Preparedness is not working. As far as I am able to tell, the "plan" is to send Baltimore's residents out into the surrounding counties ... and nothing else. Now, there were approximately 621,000 people in Baltimore City for the 2010 Census. There are only two counties that surround Baltimore City - Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County. The Chesapeake Bay is to the east.
So, Baltimore City is planning to send a large portion of those gentle, refined city folk to my quiet neighborhood. The funny thing is that people from this area are for the most part unaware of the signs - after all, for the most part, we avoid going into the City. Should a significant disaster occur that warranted City evacuation, we in the suburbs would definitely be in trouble. I was worried about two extra places at the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Just where am I going to put that approximate 150,000 uninvited guests? - Grace
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