Why do some people ignore evacuation orders?

The recent wildfires and ensuing evacuation orders raise the touchy question of why some people refuse to leave their homes and risk their lives. Do they have a death wish? Long for a little excitement? Were they unable to leave?

A study of Katrina survivors, published this summer in the journal Psychological Science, found that none of those typical assumptions fit. Instead, the people who defied evacuation orders -- many of whom had limited financial resources -- did not feel powerless or passive but instead saw themselves as connected to their neighbors and dependent on each other. They also expressed their faith in God and strong feelings about caring for others.

Stanford psychologist Nicole Stephens conducted two surveys to compare the views of 461 outside observers with the perspectives of 79 New Orleans residents who either rode out Katrina (41 people) or evacuated (38). Detailed measures of the survivors' well-being, such as their mood, life satisfaction, mental health and drug and alcohol usage, were recorded. There were no significant differences in these factors between the people who stayed and those who left. Still, observers were derogatory in their views of the people who stayed, the study found, describing them as careless and dependent.

Relief workers and public officials should not assume that defying an evacuation order is simply a bad choice, the authors suggested, but a choice that reflects one's resources and personal perspectives.

Those who stayed "more often adjusted to their limited options by having faith and by actively maintaining hope despite hardship," the authors wrote. "One stayer stated, 'Through much prayers and faith in God, that's how we made it.' "

-- Shari Roan

Photo credit: Irwin Thompson  /  Associated Press / Dallas Morning News

Comments

[james retta]

Typhoon Morakot here in Taiwan revealed that because rescues rarely include taking the family pet, that may be enough reason to refuse evacuation. One man that refused help was later found dead next to all his dogs, although one dog survived. Unfortunately, his wife could not leave him and she was also later found dead.

[Heyoehkah]

Why do people ignore evacuation notices? Well, in part because public officials lie and everyone knows they lie.

Two years ago San Diego county saw some of the worst fires in memory. One was the Rice Canyon Fire which started in the far northheast part of Fallbrook. County officials decided to evacuate all of Fallbrook. Never mind I live six miles from the fire, and the fire would have to burn the entire city before reaching me, my family and I were placed under manditory evacuation.

My next door neighbors in Oceanside were not placed under manditory or even volentary evacuation. In fact the city of Oceanside informed me over the phone that my neighbors were under no threat at all.

None of this stopped the sherrif from pounding on my door and demanding that I leave. They insisted "the fire was quickly approaching and we were in imient danger". Too bad for me that I did not live 40 feet further west where we would have been completly safe.

Better yet, city officials can tell the truth. Cry wolf too often and risk being ignored.

David Friedman
Fallbrook, CA

[maya]

By staying in a situation when evacuation is advised, one puts the rescuers in unnecessary danger. Why is it that if acting as a community and praying to a god is such an important way of handling disaster and holding down the fort, these same people don't elect to actively help each other to get out of danger? Praying to god isn't going to get you out of a burning building, a firefighter is.

[S. W.]

It's because these people are just plain ignorant!!

[anon]

During the Simi Valley CA wildfire I stayed...alone.
Reasons? Easy. 1.When asked to leave, you can not return until told. 2.In a fire you are advised to open all window coverings so they do not ignite, leave the doors unlocked and the garage door up so the firefighters can enter if need be, and leave the lights on so in the darkness fire brings your home can be seen. These are perfect signs for looters and they DO stay. 3.Staying at a motel or friends is not always an option, this is home after all and living out in the middle of nowhere usually means the person ia an independent loner. 4.The neighbors asked me to release their pets if the fire actually came close. In rustic areas the neighbors are a wealth of information with years of experience in catastrophes under their belts and know when it's time to leave and they do.

[PDQ]

30,000 people were trapped in the Super Dome during Katrina, with untold thousands more trapped in their homes and on rooftops. Yet Stanford University psychologist Nicole Stephens polled a whopping 79 New Orleans residents as to why they did or did not leave New Orleans before the storm. And the los angeles times (deliberately lower case - you're no longer worthy of caps) actually covers the story!

If you still had your own polling group, they could have told you that this "study" really wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. As it is, that statement now applies to your newspaper as well.