The Americans are too, I remember quite a few years back when the volcano on Montserrat blew up. People just ran for their lives, most people got away, but they didnt have time to grab anything, clothes, food or much else.
And as you well know, the people in the Caribbean tend to tie their dogs up in their yards(dont get me started on this issue), and most of them either let their dogs loose hoping they would excape the volcano, or just didnt have time to think of them and left them tied up.
One of our kids was involved in the rescue attempt from Boston, who send a plane with a group of people who actually went up into the areas(with permission from the Montserrat govt), and got the few dogs that were still alive and wandering around. Most of the dogs who were tied up had died of dehidration, lack of food, or just plain trauma.
But they got a few hundred out and saved!
Jane