I agree he should have done that, it would have saved many more of the old and infirm, but not all. Even today after all the horror of the past week, with NO police compelling people to leave, people are resisting. Old people who do not want to leave their home of a lifetime. Younger better prepared people who had the foresight to stock up on the necessities before the disaster and are determined to ride it out. I think it is a natural instinct for people to hunker down and defend the "home front". Birds, insects, fish, and mammals all show this possessiveness of their territory. It’s part of what it means to be alive. In the "exclusion zone" surrounding the Tschernobyl reactor meltdown, residual radiation is still at life threatening levels and yet close to ten thousand people (mostly older folk) have returned to spend their remaining lives in their familial homes.
The point of all this? Yes, the mayor could have done a better job of getting people out. But there comes a point, and I think we are now passing that point, when forcing people to leave their homes is immoral. Does the state have a charter to force you to live in safety? In Ukraine and Belarus the answer is no, what is the answer here in the “home of the brave”?
Regards,
GtG