Who Should Be Evacuated First in Disasters?

At times of disasters, we start evacuating people we have access to as soon as possible and according to the available means we have. All people in the disaster area should help rescuing and evacuating the survivors, each one according to his or her capability and means.

Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal Nadvi, director and imam of Al-Falah Islamic Center, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, states: In times of calamities, the protection of the living people takes precedence. Also we evacuate the people that we can easily access. For example, if there are people lying on the streets and others are trapped in a building, then we go with the easier first in order to save their lives. Also, we evacuate the most affected areas first because of the great need.

Moreover, the eminent Muslim scholar and renowned da`iyahSheikh `Abdel Khaliq Hasan Ash-Shareef, adds:

In times of devastating disasters, we evacuate people we can access. All people found in this area should help rescuing and evacuating the survivors, each one according to his or her capability and means. We cannot say to one who is able to carry one person to carry two persons. We say in such times all people found in the affected areas should help rescue and evacuate the survivors. They can arrange their priorities according their capabilities and the available means they have.