It's true that many people will never face reality. But listening to the announcements (granted, from a distance), I didn't feel there was much urgency or that the city really thought it was worth bothering with. In addition, I don't understand how a "mandatory" evacuation order could have left behind thousands of people in such a relatively small city.
There's really no such thing as a "mandatory" evacuation; nowhere on the coast has anyone ever tried, or even planned for, forcing people out of their homes at gunpoint.