Users Guide - the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center

Real Time Evacuation Planning Model (RtePM)A Decision Support Tool for Emergency Managers and First RespondersBackgroundReal Time Evacuation Planning Model (RtePM – pronounced “route-PM”) was developed in response tothe emergency management community’s desire to have an easy-to-use tool that quickly estimates thetime required to evacuate an area in the event of natural or man-made disasters such as hurricanes,wildfires, and terrorists incidents (e.g. a “dirty bomb”). The main purpose is to enable emergencymanagers the opportunity to gain insight form testing various evacuation scenarios thus enablinginformed decision making and improved information sharing between federal, state, local, and tribal firstresponders and all levels of government.RtePM accepts external data such as:TransportationInfrastructureDemographicRtePM uses a color-coded map interface and is designed to:collect, process and store traffic network and behavior model parametersaccept and verify parameters specified to generate traffic flow and clearance timesgenerate traffic flow information and clearance timesmaintain a repository of public and private evacuation scenariosinject static data and pre-set traffic conditions.Hardware/Software OverviewRtePM runs in a PC environment. The end user application is accessible via any web browser (e.g.Internet Explorer TM , Firefox TM , Safari TM and Chrome TM ) with Flash TM plug-in version 10.0 or higherinstalled. No additional installation steps are required.The Real Time Evacuation Planning Model (RtePM) was initially developed by John Hopkins UniversityApplied Physics Laboratory (JHU-APL) as part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Virtual USA (vUSA) initiative. The vUSA initiativeresulted from collaborations between the Department of Homeland Security, the emergency responsecommunity and eight states across the nation.Under the guidance and direction of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM),VMASC expanded on the initial work a dynamic mode using randomness (“probabilistic”) to enhancesituation awareness, capability and flexibility. Additional features have been added. Independentverification and validation testing has been completed and identified short comings.Point of Contact (POC)The email address rtepm@odu.edu reaches a common email mailbox at VMASC. Email received at thisaddress will be routed internally to the appropriate POC for information or action as indicated.Accessing RtePMTo access the RtePM tool, type into the address bar of your web browser, the URLhttp://rtepm.vmasc.odu.edu/RTEPM/ and press enter. Once the program has loaded completely, youshould see an image of the U.S. map with the pop-up overlay shown in Figure 1.1