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Refusing to Evacuate can Have Consequences

A senseless loss of life.

One of the things about being a nation with plenty of personal freedoms is the fact that during disasters, individuals can refuse to leave their homes when danger threatens.

People have the right to do what they do, but with choices there can be consequences. The most recent fire in California claimed two victims when they refused to leave their homes. See California Radio Amateur is Wildfire Victim

This is something to consider when it comes time to do your own disaster planning and response efforts. How will you and your team react when people refuse to evacuate their homes when there is a fire, volcanic lahar (mudflow), flood, landslide hazard?

 

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.