Moving People Out of Danger, Part A
2011
This case study examines how leaders and officials in Louisiana and Texas implemented an evacuation process for citizens with special needs following catastrophic natural disasters. It considers evacuation shortcomings that affected those with disabilities and medical conditions, the elderly, the institutionalized, the homebound, and people without direct access to their own means of transportation. Part A describes the planning and implementation of evacuation, sheltering, and repatriation efforts during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005; Part B explores how states revisited their plans to respond to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.
This case is part of a series produced by the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Case Program, hosted by the HKS Strengthening Learning and Teaching Excellence (SLATE) initiative, the world’s largest producer and repository of case studies designed for teaching about how government works and how public policy is made. Each case in the series is designed to train public leaders, and introduces actual policy dilemmas along with data to equip students to learn how to apply the rigor of quantitative analysis in the real world.
This case may be purchased for a nominal fee; registered educators may obtain a free review copy. Online supplemental resources include short free documents and videos on how to teach with the case method, as well as downloadable related tip sheets and questions for class discussion.
Moving People Out of Danger, Part A
Source:
Giles D. Moving People Out of Danger: Special Needs Evacuations From Gulf Coast Hurricanes (A). HKS Case No. 1943.0. Harvard Kennedy School Case Program 2011. http://case.hks.harvard.edu/moving-people-out-of-danger-special-needs-evacuations-from-gulf-coast-hurricanes-a.