“Are people’s former homes looted? destroyed? appropriated? Does anyone protect the area?”
– The answers to all those questions is “maybe” and it depends very much on the situation. e.g Was there fighting in that area, and what kind, and who was there when there was fighting there. Also what are the armies (and any remaining civilians) of the opposing sides like? (i.e. How often do they tend to loot, abuse, and/or kill civilians?) And did armies foreign to the area spend time there, and how much time? Are any military units, stragglers, or opportunists/looters stll there? And also what’s currently going on in the conflict? If there’s nearby combat? Does the side that claims this territory have any “peacekeeping” forces or police assigned to the area, or not? And what edicts have the issued about who is allowed in the area, and what will be done to them?
“Once people start to leave in large numbers, what happens to those who remain?”
– At first, they generally worry about what to do.
“Once the majority have gone, does everyone else really have to go for their own safety?”
– That really depends on the situation, what really ends up happening, and what those people’s needs and definitions of safety is. It’s possible someone hiding in a basement with the supplies they need turn out to have been safer than the people who left their homes and what ends up happening to them.
“Have you ever been in such an area yourself? Have you ever had to evacuate for reasons of political or military conflict? Could you ever go back?”
– No, I haven’t.