Why can't some people get a grip on what's important in this life?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-16648829
7 years ago, my cousin, his wife and two tots (<4 IIRC) had a miraculous escape from the tsunami at Phuket. When they returned to their hotel, another resident bemoaned the lack of marmalade for breakfast!
Quote from that report:
"There was certainly no 'women and children first' policy. It was disgusting."
No, there isn't, apparently, and it's a good thing too. It's been weighed up, and the stress and difficulty of dividing spouses, or fathers from families, wastes time. A good evacuation gets everyone queued up and in the boats and away, regardless.
I've never quite understood the women and children first thing, or the general feeling in any tradegy that women and children's lives are more important than men's. If anyone should get priority, it's those least able to help themselves or most susceptible to cold, regardless of age or sex.
I expect a tidal expert could probably assure the lady that her husband will end up off Monaco eventually.
(of course, the Concordia evacuation, or lack of it, does sound like it was very badly handled initially, that's not in dispute. I can't help thinking though, that if everyone had been told to be ready to get off, and then nothing happened, there'd be complaints about the inconvenience...)