[dx034]

> 1) Houston is one of the biggest metros areas in America at ~6 million. Even cities with strong public transportation wouldn't have the resources to bus and train 6 million people

I'd disagree here. Many major cities in the world could probably get this done. I guess you could get London evacuated within a day just by trains if you plan accordingly. And that'll be the case for most European cities as well as many in Asia. It's just US cities which have little to no public transport (except for NYC).

[maxerickson]

A complete evacuation of Houston to Dallas is like evacuating Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht most of the way to Paris.

Except the Houston metro area is physically larger than that part of the Netherlands (the populations are close enough to the same).

[mbroncano]

Evacuating the Randstaad is feasible within a few days, at least in theory. Most people live walking distance from a tram, bus or train station.

Even equating civility, which is not the case, between the NL and TX, there's literally no public transport available, period. Roads are not an option (just check any daily commute between say Montrouse and Katy).

Houston is a dead trap in events like this, with no recourse available other than holing up and hoping it's not your time.

Evacuation or not, I'm sure to leave the city at the slightest sign of heavy rain, and I haven't regretted so far.

Source: I lived in both places for the last ten years.

[maxerickson]

I mostly thought the comparison of scope was useful.

I do wonder how long it would actually take to move 3-5 million people ~500 km though. Quite a project.