Order Code RS22235
September 2, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Disaster Evacuation and Displacement Policy:
Issues for Congress
Keith Bea
Specialist, American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina reaches beyond the borders of the
states directly affected by the wind, rain, and floods. Before the storm reached the coast,
thousands of residents of Louisiana and Mississippi evacuated to other states, including
Texas and Oklahoma. Many people, for a variety of reasons, chose to disregard the
mandatory evacuation orders issued by state and local officials. In general, evacuation
policy is set and enforced by state and local officials. Federal policy provides for
various aspects of civilian evacuation. As Members of Congress explore the challenges
and losses in the states affected directly or indirectly by Hurricane Katrina, they may
be called upon to consider federal policy options to more fully integrate federal and state
authorities.
Using the authority set out in state laws and local ordinances, state and local
officials may suggest or require the evacuation of residents from homes and communities
before certain catastrophes occur.1 Threats of pending natural disasters such as hurricanes
or floods, warnings of the movement of airborne hazardous material due to transportation
accidents, or the recognition of unstable conditions at nuclear power plants may provide
officials a short window of opportunity to save thousands of lives.
To a limited extent, federal statutes authorize agency heads to use federal resources
to assist in the evacuation of civilians. Among those authorities, and arguably pertinent
to the situation in New Orleans even before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, is the
provision in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act for the
President to direct the Secretary of Defense to use resources to perform “emergency work
1 State laws generally authorize the Governor to order and enforce the evacuation of residents
under emergency situations. See CRS Report RL32287, Emergency Management and Homeland
Security Statutory Authorities in the States, District of Columbia, and Insular Areas: a Summary,
by Keith Bea, Government and Finance Division, CRS, and L. Cheryl Runyon and Kae M.
Warnock, consultants, p. 4.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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which is made necessary by such incident and which is essential for the preservation of
life and property.”2
The complications and suffering associated with Hurricane Katrina demonstrate that
the evacuation and the relocation of tens of thousands of residents pose enormous
challenges for public officials after catastrophes occur. Due to limitations involving
medical, income, or transportation needs, or for other reasons, many did not or could not
heed the warnings. The flooding of New Orleans and the widespread destruction of
infrastructure in Mississippi and Louisiana caused by Hurricane Katrina may result in tens
of thousands of persons remaining homeless for many months, and possibly in the
relocation of entire communities. The issue is whether federal policy regarding the
evacuation of civilians and their resettlement, or the implementation of that policy, is
appropriate, and whether the policy might be better integrated with state authorities.
Evacuation Policy
In general, federal policy defers to the states to enact laws pertinent to evacuation,
and local officials generally work with state officials to enforce those laws. For example,
the National Response Plan (NRP), administered by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), sets forth the roles and
responsibilities of federal and certain non-federal entities after catastrophes overwhelm
state or local governments. The NRP includes the following in a list of responsibilities
of local chief executive officers:
Dependent upon state and local law, [the local executive] has extraordinary powers
to suspend local laws and ordinances, such as to establish a curfew, direct
evacuations, and, in coordination with the local health authority, to order a
quarantine.3
Federal officials facilitate evacuation procedures when the NRP is invoked, take the lead
on coordinating necessary decisions, support search and rescue efforts, and provide
technical assistance.4 In the event of the most catastrophic incidents (such as after
Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005), “the federal
2 42 U.S.C. 5170b(c).
3 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, The National Response Plan (Washington: 2004), p.
8. Hereafter cited as NRP. Similar text is used to describe the role of tribal chief executive
officers. See also p. 53 of the NRP (initial actions taken by first responders and local government
authorities including evacuations) and p. 54 (response actions that may involve federal assistance
include law enforcement and evacuations).
4 For example, the Department of Transportation (DOT) Regional Emergency Transportation
Coordinator (RETCO) coordinates with state and local authorities on “issues such as movement
restrictions, critical facilities closures, and evacuations;” establishes resource priorities, and
provides technical assistance. Ibid., p. ESF#1-3, 4. The Department of Defense coordinates with
DOT to evacuate patients, at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services. Ibid.,
p. ESF#8-4. See also 44 CFR 352.26, which provides that federal agencies “may be called upon”
to provide reception centers or shelters for evacuees.

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government or other national entities” are expected to provide public health, medical, and
mental health support at casualty evacuation points and refugee shelters.”5
Federal law contains provisions related to the evacuation of civilians and planning
requirements within the United States, under specified circumstances. General authority
is also given to federal agencies for emergency preparedness activities that include
evacuation planning. These authorities are cited in Table 1.
Table 1. Federal Statutory Provisions on Evacuation Policy
Summary
Citation
Federal employees and their dependents may receive
5 U.S.C. 5709, 5725,
assistance if they must be evacuated.
5922, 5923
The role of FEMA includes evacuating disaster victims.
6 U.S.C. 317
National Construction Safety Teams must evaluate technical
15 U.S.C. 7301, 7307-
aspects of evacuation procedures and recommend research.
7308
Chief of Engineers may use funds to evacuate persons in a
33 U.S.C. 701i
flood wall project area if the cost of the project can be
substantially reduced.
Emergency preparedness activities include non-military
42 U.S.C. 5195a
civilian evacuation and evacuation of personnel during
hazards.
Computer models for evacuation must be periodically
42 U.S.C. 7403(f)(2)(C)
evaluated and improved.
Temporary housing and evacuation of threatened persons are
42 U.S.C. 9601(23)
to be included in the scope of hazardous substance removal.
Emergency plans completed by local emergency planning
42 U.S.C. 11003
committees (LEPCs) must include evacuation plans.
Owners of facilities where a hazardous chemical release
42 U.S.C. 11004(b)(2)
occurs must provide information on precautions to be taken,
including evacuation.
Secretary of Transportation must establish incident response
46 U.S.C. 70104(b)
plans for facilities and vessels that include evacuation
procedures.
Congressional finding made that private and public sector
P.L. 108-458, §7305, 118
emergency preparedness activities should include an
Stat. 3848
evacuation plan.
5 NRP, p. CAT-2.

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Summary
Citation
Evacuation routes may be included as components of the
H.R. 3 (109th Congress)
National Highway System under the high priority corridor
Sec. 1304 (a) Signed by
designations.
President George W. Bush
on August 10, 2005
The Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT)
H.R. 3 (109th Congress)
and the Secretary of Homeland Security in coordination with
Sec. 10204
the Gulf Coast States and contiguous states, must review and
assess federal and state evacuation plans for catastrophic
hurricanes impacting the Gulf Coast Region and report, by
October 1, 2006, findings and recommendations to Congress.
The National Science Foundation is to produce a public
H.R. 3 (109th Congress)
transportation security study of public systems’ ability to
Sec. 3046
accommodate the emergency evacuation, egress, or ingress
from urban areas with populations over one million.
Emergency evacuation studies are a required DOT activity
H.R. 3 (109th Congress)
under the deployment of the transportation model known as
Sec. 5512(b) (4)
the “Transportation Analysis Simulation System.”
Source: CRS compilation based on database searches conducted by Thomas P. Carr of the Government and
Finance Division and contributions by Robert Kirk of the Resources, Science, and Industry Division, both
of CRS.
Note: Table 1 excludes statutory provisions related to military personnel, criminal offenses, foreign
nations and international relations, liability, and payment of costs,
Displacement and Sheltering
One facet of evacuation is the removal of persons from a stricken or threatened area.
Another is the resettlement of the victims, or potential victims, and the provision of
shelter and resources in the areas to which those residents are moved, known as the host
areas. The NRP vests responsibility for the coordination of mass care for disaster victims
in FEMA and the American Red Cross. With the support of other federal agencies,
charitable organizations, the private sector, and individuals, victims of catastrophes may
find shelter outside the stricken area for a temporary period of time.6
The individual assistance and temporary housing provisions of the Stafford Act
authorize federal agencies to provide alternative housing for disaster victims.7 FEMA
administers this program that provides financial assistance for alternative
accommodations, or direct assistance through modular housing moved to a temporary
housing site. In order to make use of this authority, vacant alternative housing units
(apartments, motels or hotels, recreational vehicles, modular units) must be found, or sites
must be developed for the mobile homes brought on-site by FEMA.
6 “Emergency shelter includes the use of pre-identified shelter sites in existing structures...and
use of similar facilities outside the incident area, should evacuation be necessary.” Ibid., p.
ESF#6-2.
7 42 U.S.C. 5174.

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Issues for Congressional Consideration
! The President, at the request of the Governor of a state, is authorized to
direct the Secretary of Defense to use resources for emergency work to
save lives. The Governors of the states are authorized to direct the
evacuation of civilians under the emergency statutory authorities. In the
wake of Hurricane Katrina Congress may assess how effectively federal
authority pertinent to evacuations is implemented by Administration
officials.
! Many catastrophes, natural and human-caused, cannot be anticipated; nor
can threats or warnings be provided. Congress may review statutory
means to expedite the delivery of federal resources and personnel to
disaster stricken areas in order to evacuate civilians and provide
necessary medical treatment.
! The Catastrophic Incident Annex of the NRP includes the assumption
that large-scale evacuations, whether spontaneous or directed pursuant to
authorities, may be more likely to occur after attacks than natural
disasters, and that the maintenance of public health will “aggravate
attempts to implement a coordinated evacuation management strategy.”8
In light of concerns raised by some that the NRP, and the focus of DHS,
is skewed toward concerns about terrorist attacks, Congress may review
whether this assumption adequately addresses the complications evident
in the evacuation of New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina
struck.
! Persons in the affected population who struggle with disabilities, be they
mental or health, need particular attention in evacuations. The National
Organization on Disability has developed a guide for the consideration
of the needs of disabled persons, particularly the evacuation of those
individuals from their communities.9 Congress could consider whether
standing state authorities adequately address the needs of the disabled in
evacuation circumstances.
! The Stafford Act stipulates that relief and assistance be provided
“without discrimination on the grounds of...economic status.”10 Through
authorities cited in Table 1 of this report, FEMA has responsibility to
provide for the evacuation of disaster victims,11 and provide for
8 Ibid., p. CAT-3.
9 National Organization on Disability, Emergency Preparedness Initiative: Guide on the Special
Needs of People with Disabilities for Emergency Managers, Planners & Responders, available
at [http://nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=11], visited Aug. 31, 2005.
10 42 U.S.C. 5151(b).
11 6 U.S.C. 317.

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evacuation as part of federal emergency preparedness efforts.12 Congress
may assess whether existing evacuation plans and procedures comport
with the requirements of the Stafford Act.
! Temporary housing is authorized to be provided generally for 18 months
after a disaster. The detonation of a nuclear device in a metropolitan
area, or a major incident at a nuclear power plant, could result in long-
term consequences that might render areas uninhabitable for years. The
destruction associated with Hurricane Katrina may force thousands of
families to seek alternative shelter for many months, if not years.
Congress may review existing statutory authorities given this longer term
issue.
! Federal law does not authorize assistance for states indirectly affected by
catastrophes. States that house tens of thousands of disaster victims for
many months will face unexpected service delivery burdens. Congress
might examine federal policy options to provide assistance to host states.
12 42 U.S.C. 5195a.

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