Challenges in Evacuation Traffic Management during Rapidly Intensifying Hurricanes in Florida

Bibliographic Data

ID21738570
AuthorsBarsha Manandhar (0000-0002-2328-3547, University of South Florida), Pallab Mozumder (0000-0001-9675-6176, Florida International University), Nafisa Halim (0000-0002-6529-4455, Boston Univ), Samiul Hasan (0000-0002-5828-3352, University of Central Florida), Chiradip Chatterjee (University of North Florida)
Year2026
Volume27
Issue4
Publication date2026-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNatural Hazards Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1527-6988 • E-ISSN: 1527-6996
PublisherAmerican Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1061/nhrefo.nheng-2583
OpenAlexW7166017508
LanguageEN
References cited26

Rapidly intensifying hurricanes (RIHs) pose increasing challenges for evacuation traffic management, demanding faster and more coordinated decision-making across jurisdictions. This study examines how governance structures and interagency collaboration shape evacuation traffic outcomes in Florida. Drawing on 21 semistructured interviews with county and state emergency management and transportation officials, the study applies a collaborative governance framework to explore how contextual factors drive collaborative processes of communication and trust that, in turn, shape coordination capacity during RIHs. Findings reveal that fragmented authority, inconsistent engagement, and limited year-round coordination impede synchronized evacuation timing, information sharing, and traffic management. Leadership tensions, resource constraints, and data mistrust further weaken collaborative capacity, while inconsistent risk messaging contributes to public noncompliance and congestion. These results highlight a temporal vulnerability in collaborative governance under rapidly intensifying hazards, as compressed decision windows limit opportunities for trust-building and joint action. To enhance coordination, the study recommends strengthening regional governance mechanisms, institutionalizing year-round stakeholder engagement, and developing shared decision-making platforms to support unified, data-informed, and trusted communication during evacuations. The findings underscore that effective evacuation traffic management extends beyond technical solutions to include the governance processes that enable timely, coordinated, and credible action

Collaborative governance · Corporate governance · Emergency management · Poison control · Stakeholder · Stakeholder engagement · Disaster Management and Resilience · Evacuation and Crowd Dynamics · Public Relations and Crisis Communication