Here is the good ol' U.S.A. there aren't too many circumstances where you have to vacate your home with no notice and also have a widespread breakdown or law and order. The examples that come to mind are an earthquake that damages your house, wildfires, and riots. You get an advance warning with hurricanes, but look what happened to people in New Orleans who thought they could ride it out.
We had to evacuate for hurricane Rita last year, and it took an uncomfortably long time (about three hours) to pack up. That included things like shutting off the gas and electricity.
We were not in immediate danger, but we wanted to beat the traffic.
- Jim