New simulators amp up training for first responders.

Disaster response planners and first responders are the beneficiaries of some new modeling and simulation programs.

The Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center recently released a tool called the real time evacuation planning model (RtePM). It is an online pro-grain that estimates the time required to evacuate an area in the aftermath of natural or man-made disasters, Thomas Reese, director of business development and technology transfer for the center, said at a National Training and Simulation Association exhibition on Capitol Hill.

It gives an emergency response manager total control of evacuation planning. He first defines where he wants to evacuate by placing pinpoints on a map. He can then modify variables such as the time of day the evacuation starts, the rate of evacuation, the population participation rate and the number of residents in a vehicle within the area.

"Any emergency planner can go onto our website and literally draw a polygon around an area to see how long it takes to evacuate," said Reese.

Scenarios can be large-scale, terrorist attacks and earthquakes, or small-scale, and benign events such as a crowd leaving an area after a parade, he said.

The model gathers its information from census data and allows users to add more people to an area. Roads can be shut down, reversed and created if, for example, an official wants to move emergency vehicles onto a street for security. Evacuees can be made to respond more slowly or quickly in a scenario.

"You can model all the traffic on the roads, the stoplights and everything," said Reese. "As you execute the model, it will show you all the evacuation routes and how long it will take to evacuate," he added.

Johns Hopkins University originally developed the program with funding from the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate. In 2012, it was transferred to VMASC, which distributes the program free through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management using DHS regional catastrophic preparedness grants. The company is updating RtePM by adding random test modes, increased traffic modeling accuracy and increased modeling of different catastrophes, said Reese.

The center is...