Texas Develops Emergency Evacuation System based on RFID

Almost every year, a big storm moves through the Texas Gulf Coast, forcing thousands of residents to be evacuated. And, each year, rescue workers are inundated with calls about family members who cannot be located.

That’s why the State of Texas is developing a way to track evacuees during times of natural disaster. The system, called the Texas Special Needs Evacuation Tracking System, is based on barcodes and RFID. When an evacuee boards a bus, he or she is given a special wristband that is scanned.

The information is collected and combined with GPS data about the location of the bus. This means that rescue workers will have real-time information to offer to worried family members eager to be reunited with their missing loved ones.