Like any other disaster area, the decision for a mandatory evacuation is a political one and requires consultation with a wide variety of agencies. In any crisis, natural or man-made, if you wait for the government to tell you to evacuate then it is bordering on too late. Once you surrender responsibility for your safety and evacuation over to another agency, you are subject to that group's polices and procedures. Just like at a disaster shelter in the US, your belongings will be searched and they will confiscate contraband items for the safety of the group.

As always, personal responsibility for your own safety is the easiest way to avoid being trapped in the evacuation system. Stay abreast of the current military and political situaion, gather the information, read the tea leaves, and evaluate when the situation goes beyond your personal level of acceptable risk. Then buy a plane ticket to somewhere with sand and sun. Worst case you burn a few vacation days working on your tan and sipping umbrella drinks. But if the situation continues to get worse, you're already safely out of the area and watching the chaos of the evacuation on TV instead of standing in line to be welcomed into the "Superdome Part Deux"...

-J

Sounds like my kinda evac plan. I'll bring the sunscreen.

I was involved in a NEO exercise in the Middle East a few months back. Our role-playing evacuees included military personnel, as well as embassy staffers and their family members. I'll echo everything AROTC mentioned in his post.

DON'T cause a fuss when the Marines take your toys. (We had some role players who were supposed the act up and cause problems. The Marines did their job).

As for passports - I have never been somewhere when I thought "I wish I didn't have my passport on me." I've had one since I was 19 and will keep a current one until they put me in the grave.