Evacuate or Else

I just heard an announcement that the State of Texas will implement a new law effective September 1. It provides authority to arrest any citizen who refuses a mandatory evactuation notice, such as the ones issued last fall when Hurricane Ike was about to hit our area.

There are always some people who ignore the warnings, at their own peril. There are still some bodies missing from the storm surge Ike brought. The proponents of the law point to the dangers to rescue people in the midst of the storms when the stragglers change their minds. No doubt there is a danger. And perhaps arrest might save lives of those so foolish as to stay in the face of danger.

Still I wonder about such a law. What do you thinK?