Book excerpt: When government officials become aware of an impending disaster, they may take steps to protect citizens before the incident occurs. Evacuation of the geographic area that may be affected is one option to ensure public safety. If implemented properly, evacuation can be an effective strategy for saving lives. Decisions to evacuate may require officials to balance potentially costly, hazardous, or unnecessary evacuations against the possibility of loss of life due to a delayed order to evacuate. Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Examples of Fed. Evacuation Policy; (3) Evacuations: Lessons Learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; (4) Congressional Issues; (5) Pending Legislation in the 111th Congress. Appendix: Statutory Authority for Evacuations. Illus.