I wanted to weigh in on this, having recently survived Flo--we live ~10 miles from where she made landfall.
First off, I realize that, in this particular case, we had the (comparative) luxury of advance warning. Not every case has this, particularly with wildfires that shift with the winds. But, we knew the mandatory and voluntary evacuations on Mon. School was cancelled Tu-Fr, and remains closed (through next week). The storm hit Friday morning, but things got bad Th night. That's 3-4 days in which to pack up and find a location to go, plus a location for pets. There's no excuse for the pets being left behind. There were several shelters, including ones that allowed pets. FTR, we were under voluntary evacuation and chose to stay. One of DD15's friends was under mandatory evacuation--his family actually came to their grandmother's house in our neighborhood.
We had two evacuation places lined up, both of which would have taken our pets. We have relatives 3 and 6 hours out--I can't believe that people don't have friends or family or SOMETHING that they could reach out to, to help with pets. I know we would have taken in people/pets if asked.
Secondly, I know work can be a problem. Dh went in Wed. evening, and got home Tues. afternoon. His work literally chartered a ferry to get workers home. I was not thrilled to be home with the kids, without him, through 5 days of no power. But, his company did take good care of him, I have to give them credit (Duke Energy, BTW--he works at the nuclear power plant).
Third, how does one not know that they live in a danger zone? Is it really so shocking that beachfront property would be subject to gale-force winds and rain? Similarly, is it so surprising that a river might flood its banks? I completely recognize that, in this case, we're talking about a 100-year flood type of situation (the Cape Fear River crested at ~65 feet--flooding is at ~35 feet. Don't quote my numbers.) They were reporting for days that the storm would slow and dump massive amounts of rain. I feel sorry for the people who lost their homes, it's been truly devastating in some areas. But I also feel like, people should have had some clue. Again, this is different from an earthquake or tornado. Even wildfires--you have to have an idea that they're a possibility.
Obviously, some people are obstinate, or have valid reasons to stay--a farmer with horses, cattle, pigs isn't going to be able to up and move. The infirm can't just skip down the road to a shelter. On the good side, we had people helping, both before and after the storm, to minimize the loss of life. And that's the thing--there ARE resources, you just have to reach out for them.