Natural and man-made disasters can strike at any moment. Each year, we deal with some type of emergency worldwide: hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, bombings, shootings, and more. Since events like September 11th, Boston Marathon bombing, and the pending West Coast earthquake, routine exercises and planning help the local communities prepare. But that’s not enough.

Many major cities are still not well equipped to deal with large scale evacuations following a disaster. Although first responders, emergency managers, and the military arrive to help civilians, the general chaos and confusion immediately following does not allow for efficient and effective evacuations. Destroyed communication and transportation infrastructure adds many levels of complexity.