The pet issue is a big one, and I am glad someone already raised it.

My personal feeling is that if it is time to evacuate, and you have no means of evacuating yourself, then the pet stays behind. If you are too poor to afford some form of transportation out of town (your own car, a cab, a bus, a bike, heck something), you probably shouldn't be wasting money on a pet anyway.

Most people in your situation, Graeblyn, would and should know to evacuate on their own in advance, when warned about the incoming hurricane, so they can make sure their pet gets evacuated.

I think once the authorities have moved in for MANDATORY evacuating (when they have to evacuate people by force), then it is too late for the pets. At that point, the pets stay behind. That is really sad, but people who own pets should already know that in many things in life, they have extra responsibilities. In a situation like this, that means getting out on your own power before the authorities have to do it forcibly.