Stay or go? How evacuation decisions are made, and what you should do

The short version

On UK forums, "should I stay put or leave?" usually comes with a picture of packing the car and heading for the hills. Official advice almost always points the other way. For most emergencies, the safest place is inside the building you're already in, and leaving is something you do when you're told to, or when the building itself is the danger.

Why "stay in" is usually right

Radiation. UKHSA's advice for a radiation emergency is blunt: you should not evacuate unless advised to, as leaving shelter may increase your exposure. It also says not to go out to collect family from school, nursery or hospital: they'll be told to stay where they are. Most people are asked to stay in for one to two days, possibly longer.

Chemicals and smoke. Be Ready gives the same go in, stay in, tune in advice: close doors and windows, turn off fans and air conditioning, and follow official news.

Roads. If everyone drives off at once, the roads that fire engines and ambulances need fill up. Be Ready asks people not to turn up at the scene of an emergency to help, and not to travel from elsewhere in the country.

When you leave straight away

• Fire. Leave without waiting to be told. Be Ready asks every household to work out its best escape route now.
• Flooding that's a danger to life. A severe flood warning means danger to life. Be Ready says to always follow advice from your council or the emergency services, and that delaying can put you and rescuers at risk.
• The building is unsafe. If your home is badly damaged, see our post on whether your home is safe after a blast nearby.

Who decides on an evacuation

In the UK, evacuation decisions are made locally. Local resilience forums bring together the emergency services, councils and the NHS to plan for major emergencies, and most English and Welsh forums publish a Community Risk Register listing the risks in their area (GOV.UK). You can read yours now to see what your area plans for.

On the day, UKHSA says local emergency responders will tell you what to do and where to go. You'll hear through the police and council, Emergency Alerts on your phone, local radio and TV, and GOV.UK.

If you live near a nuclear site, UKHSA says to read the specific local information you've been given. Those plans cover accidents, not attacks.

If you're told to go

1. Go promptly, by the route you're given.
2. Take your grab bag. Be Ready's list: medicines, a first aid kit, important documents, a torch, bottled water, warm waterproof clothing, and baby items if needed. Sweden's brochure adds ID, a bank card and cash, a battery or wind-up radio, a phone and charger, and phone numbers on paper.
3. Turn off gas, electricity and water if it's safe and you know how (Be Ready). Never touch electrical switches while standing in water.
4. Take your pets (Be Ready: flooding). Finland's guidance says the same.
5. Tell someone where you're going: your out-of-area contact, if you have one.

Where people go. Responders will tell you. Many people go to family or friends outside the area. UKHSA says that after a radiation release you may need a contamination check before you reach a rest centre or temporary housing. After a flood, if your home can't be lived in, Be Ready says to contact your council about emergency accommodation.

Finland's guidance gives a useful picture of how this works in practice: stay calm, take only what you really need, and most people arrange their own transport and somewhere to stay, while the authorities help those who can't. Sweden's brochure says that if you can't evacuate on your own, help will be provided.

The "safe spot in the countryside"

A thread on the UK Preppers Guide forum asks whether a rural bolt-hole is really safe to evacuate to. There's no official answer, because no UK body publishes safe areas. Our post on where is safer in a nuclear attack explains why. A cottage you can reach in an hour, belonging to family who expect you, is a sensible place to stay after a flood. Driving there during a warning, when officials have told people to shelter, is not.

A relative who won't leave

Older relatives often refuse to leave home, even when it floods. A few things that help:

• Talk about it in calm times. Agree together what would make leaving the right choice (a fire, a severe flood warning, an instruction from the police) and what they'd take.
• Make it easy. A packed bag by the door, medicines listed, a named person who'll collect them or meet them.
• Use the official word. People are more likely to go when they hear it from the fire service than from family.
• If they refuse, tell the emergency services a vulnerable person is still in the house. Be Ready's advice for carers is to call the emergency services if it's unsafe to visit or you can't reach someone who relies on you. Don't put yourself in danger to move them.

See also our post on helping older and disabled relatives prepare.

What we couldn't find

UK official pages give clear advice for floods, fires, radiation and terrorism. We found no single UK page that explains how evacuation decisions are made in general, or a national list of rest centres. That's because it's planned locally: your council and local resilience forum are the places to ask.

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Related guides

• Grab bag list UK: what to pack if you have to leave home
• How to make a household emergency plan (UK template)
• Flood alerts and flood warnings: what each level means and what to do
• Radiation emergency in the UK: what official advice says (go in, stay in, tune in)
• Home fire escape plan: how to make one your whole household knows
• Travel disruption: what to carry and what to do if you're stranded

Free tools

• Make a household emergency plan (free)
• Power cuts, floods and weather warnings near me

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