I'm surprised Dagny hasn't posted this one already.
If DC had to evacuate, would you know what to do? Homeland Security says you need a plan

My evacuation plan for DC is simple; don't live there. I figure California is far enough away, although I must deal with LA.

Out of the frying pan into the fire...

Yep. Northern Virginia was close enough for me. Now it's evacuating SoCal, you still need a plan.

Did they mention how long it would take?

I somehow missed this, thanks, Russ.

I do have a plan and that is to shelter-in, at least until the city clears out, and keep my fuel tank topped off. And I'll have a couple bikes (locked) on my bike rack and my dog's bike trailer will be on the roof.

On 9/11, it took a few hours for the streets to be deserted, and that was with no discernible citywide planning. But that was mostly Virginians and Marylanders going to their homes. If DC residents are evacuated that will certainly add some hours to a weekday evac. Of course, the context of the evac will matter -- if radiation were involved, there would be panic, which was mostly absent in DC on 9/11.

Interesting wrinkle: 37% of DC residents don't own a car. That's a higher percentage than New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in '05.

DC's normal rush-hours are awful. Anyone who thinks this city can be evacuated with any haste is seriously deluded.

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It's times like this when I wish we had a "Like" button on ETS. I have nothing valuable to add, except to say "Props!" Added to you other comprehensive posts, nice response, Dagny. Very smart plan! (Where to Start? Just search Dagny's posts here, especially in Urban Preparedness and Natural Disasters for some awesome insight!)

I don't live in DC, and I'm not a pilot, but I would want to own some sort of aircraft that could take off from my residential street if I lived there. I grew up in Manhattan and feel the same way whenever I visit.

Something to think about during any major evac ... Elevated freeways are perfect kill zones Elevated freeways, bridges and many other highway system designs are perfect for trapping a target rich environment. LE response will also be delayed by the traffic that backs up outside the trap.

I like Dagny's idea to bug-in and let the heavy traffic clear out. Once you start to move you need to be assured there's a relatively clear shot to your destination.

I'm thinking if it was something really bad they were evacuating from (chemical attack, nuclear attack, coordinated terrorists, etc.) then stoplights and traffic control officers would be largely ignored. I, for one, would not be sitting there waiting for my left turn arrow to turn green if there was an attacking mob closing in behind me.

You'd also think that they'd deploy all that camera/traffic light stuff during NORMAL times, to deal with the daily traffic congestion. Why wait for an evacuation if the infrastructure is already in place?

I do not believe that any major city in the USA can be evacuated in a few hours time. The same comment applies to almost all of the major cities around the world. Cities have grown so big, that they are far beyond the capability of their transportation systems. Most large cities are struggling to handle the tide of commuters at rush hour. THAT is their max capacity for moving people. It is literally impossible to evavuate most of the people in a short period of time.

The world has gown to the point where our large cities are "sitting ducks". If any critical emergency happens that threatens the lives of many people, a negative outcome may be unavoidable.

Sad but true.