When Hurricane Sandy hit NJ, the little town where we have our beach house did something similar. Even though our house was not damaged, we weren't allowed to stay there.

They explained that because so many other houses had been damaged, and the owners couldn't stay there it increased the chances that looters would be a problem. The police force there was so small, it wouldn't be able to patrol enough to stop looting. Closing down the entire island was the easiest way to patrol since they wouldn't have to constantly check to see if anyone they saw was supposed to be there or not.

They also explained that damage to infrastructure like roads and traffic lights put people in danger. Services like firefighters and ambulances also had been damaged, so they wouldn't be able to help if they were needed. The water treatment services had been damaged as well, so the tap water was contaminated.

I think about all of that when I hear about what's going on in Maui. I don't know how similar their issues are to what happened in NJ, but I do know that just because a person's house wasn't directly damaged doesn't mean that it's safe or advisable to stay there. And the insurance companies picked up the tabs of those people who were displaced by Sandy, so they didn't have to pay out of pocket when they had to find alternative housing.

Sometimes things aren't as cut and dried as they seem. There are always a lot of things going on in the background that aren't always obvious.