Can someone explain how 'mandatory' a mandatory evac is?

[Endangered Specie]

I mean, they cant drag you out from your home and out of the area. How exactly are mandatory evacs 'enforced'? There are reports that 100+ thousand CANT get out, so if a mandatory evacuation is supposed to be so bad, why cant the people who CANT go arent 'taken away' but rather left? :shrug:

[Bluebear]

1. If the police go door to door they generally will take people

who don't have other means to leave to safety. For the idiots that "refuse to leave" they will take down next of kin information.

[seriousstan]

2. Next of kin...that should drive the point home.

[Renew Deal]

3. It usually means that you have to sign a waiver to stay.

[Bluebear]

4. Also....

"a mandntory evacuation doesn't mean they will throw you in jail or anything like that. However, it does mean you cannot expect ANY help from officials when things get hard. When it is mandantory, all help groups like police, firemen, etc. are not expected to hang around either. Very few people stay. In other words, a 911 call does do any good during a mandantory evac."

Good point from weather underground.

[necso]

5. As I understand it,

this varies (rather widely) from state to state. (And, in practice, if troops of some sort get involved under de facto (if nothing more) martial law, then almost anything may happen, including being rounded up and shipped off -- for whatever reason.)

Here in CA, the authorities are instructed (they were once, anyway, according to a copy of instructions from the (then) governor that I have stashed somewhere) to use some (whatever) means to remove you, including the ever useful "interfering with a police officer (etc) in the course of his duties".

People I know hide elsewhere and sneak back if they wish to stay when ordered to evacuate, which is always a possibility here when the fires are raging.

But as I understand it, New Orleans is at considerable risk from a hurricane of the wrong sort, so evacuation is advisable, at least if so instructed.