Lessons Learned From the Evacuation of an Urban Teaching Hospital

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Abstract
ON TUESDAY, June 5, 2001, tropical storm Allison formed in the northwest Gulf of Mexico, 80 miles (128 km) south of Galveston, Tex. She came ashore that evening, fewer than 12 hours after forming, and over the next 5 days produced record amounts of rainfall that led to devastating flooding across portions of southeast Texas. There were 3 distinct heavy rain events that affected the Houston area during this period. The first occurred with Allison's landfall on the fifth; the second occurred on the seventh; and the third, which was the most devastating, occurred on the eighth and ninth. Each major freeway in the Houston area was severely flooded in at least one location during the third event. Nearly 37 in (94 cm) of rain was recorded at the Port of Houston during Allison's 5-day rampage. Allison caused 22 deaths and more than $4.88 billion in damage in Harris County (Texas) alone. Allison is considered the costliest natural disaster ever to hit southeast Texas.

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