KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- What would happen if Kansas City were forced to evacuate -- is there an emergency plan in place?

No, there isn't, KMBC's Martin Augustine reported Friday.

Emergency management officials said current evacuation scenarios for Kansas City deal mainly with flash flooding along rivers and streams. But Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are forcing city officials to think about evacuations on a mass level.

City Manager Wayne Cauthen recently ordered his emergency management team to come up with a mass evacuation plan. Due to Kansas City's geography, there probably wouldn't be one-directional traffic snarls.

"What we'd like to do is say, 'People north of the river, go north. People downtown, go south,' and that sort of thing in order to minimize the traffic jam potential," said D.A. Christian, director of Emergency Management.

What could trigger a mass evacuation in Kansas City is a major chemical leak along the railroads, but Christian finds that implausible.

"Even though the chances for doing that in Kansas City are very unlikely, it makes sense to plan ahead," Christian said.

The mass evacuation plan is due before the City Council on Dec. 1.