Public Policy
The Office of Emergency Management boasts their action plan, "Ready New York: Household Preparedness Guide." Its creation was based on the organization's intent to teach New Yorkers emergency preparedness essentials by outlining steps New Yorkers can take to prepare for all disasters. It prides itself on being a "comprehensive pamphlet that can be downloaded online or received by mail by calling 311". Unfortunately, New York is the third least prepared city in the nation.
OEM and other city agencies can add several provisions to the emergency evacuation procedures already in. For example, emphasizing timed evacuation drills is important because in the case of a real emergency and all of New York City must evacuate, there will be too much traffic congestion, and it will make it harder for residents to escape to their designated areas. Therefore, alternative ways of transportation and other routes should be made readily accessible and encouraged to the public
The main goal is to bridge the gap between the information that exists and the people who need to receive the information. Everyday thousands of children are engaged in the public school system. Once a year, every student could have an evacuation project, where they check how prepared their household is. By doing this, not only the child can learn something, but so can his or her family, and they would be better off.