Pyteline

  You receive an emergency alert on your phone. MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER ISSUED FOR YOUR AREA. What exactly are you supposed to do? Does "mandatory" mean you can be physically forced from your home? How quickly should you leave? What should you take? Where are you supposed to go? And what happens if you decide to stay? Those questions become especially important when hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other emergencies threaten communities. The simplest answer is this: A mandatory evacuation means authorities have determined that people in a designated area face an imminent threat and should leave according to official instructions. FEMA emergency-planning guidance distinguishes a mandatory or directed evacuation from a voluntary one. A voluntary evacuation warns that a threat exists or is likely, but residents aren't required to leave. A mandatory or directed evacuation tells people within the designated area that an imminent threat to life and property exists and that ...