Indeed - mass evacuation is insurmountable if they did not have good roads, and there was no convenient high ground where they could go. Even if some sort of hill did exist, how exactly would 250,000 people take shelter there, without buildings or solid walls?

there is a real problem here. Typhoon Haiyan is not the last large hurricane that we are going to see. What exactly are we going to do to provide shelter for all the people in coastal regions of the third world - if these storms get bigger in magnitude in the future? I dont see an obvious answer to that question.

Pete2