Quantifying the key factors that create road flooding : [tech summary].

PDFTech ReportLTRC Report 497SIO No. 30000380LTRC Project No. 11-6GTEvacuationHighway safetyGeographic information systemsStorm surgesFloodsHurricanesRisk assessmentDecision support systemsLouisianaLouisiana Transportation Research CenterKent, Joshua D.Gautreau, GavinLouisiana Transportation Research CenterLouisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.). Dept. of Civil and Environmental EngineeringLouisiana. Dept. of Transportation and DevelopmentNTL-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway SafetyNTL-GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS-GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMSUS Transportation CollectionRoad fl ooding is a serious operational hazard for many low-lying areas across southern Louisiana. This hazard is especially acute forthe region\ue2\u20ac\u2122s emergency evacuation routes, which must be accessible for safe evacuation prior to an approaching hurricane. Emergencymanagers and decision-makers need additional tools regarding the factors and conditions that contribute to inundated roads tomitigate the risk of fl ooding during hurricanes. Numerous factors contribute to road fl ooding, including storm speed and direction,tidal ranges, wind speed, and storm surge. Many of these factors are deterministic and can be derived from available coastal weatherservices. Hurricane storm characteristics are modeled by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and provided as a geospatial dataproduct distributed for approaching storms at specifi ed intervals