I don't believe the media is being alarmist -- I'd say not nearly alarmist enough.

I think a lot of catastrophes happen "slowly, then all at once" -- to borrow a phrase.

This perceived phenomenon seems to cut across all kinds of dynamics -- physical world to social. Think of covid, think of immigration (Haitians most recently, but this most recent surge is _nothing_ compared to what is coming), think of the rising wave of progressivism/populism/fascism/etc., think of a 'slow'-moving tsunami wave where beachgoers are laughing and saying "how cute!" and next thing you know then they're running and screaming and drowning -- that's ongoing and upcoming global warming-induced extreme weather events.

So, if someone asked me, "Should I move today?" -- I'd ask, "Where do you live?"

Then some follow-up questions about financial resources and the like.

I feel like it's overwhelmingly obvious why many thousands of Americans should move today, but to take just one example, let's say you live in California smoke country -- which is, at this point, almost all of California and most neighboring states and much of the continental US, but let's say you're in a WUI (wildland urban interface) area -- some place that is remote, in the wilderness, not many escape routes, etc.

You should just move today -- b/c you are breathing health-degrading and even life-threatening air almost every day. Presuming you have the financial means to move, your 'early' move will enable a slightly less catastrophic migration for the millions who will be hot on your heels. And if you move today, you might not die in a fire tonight or tomorrow. And even if you don't die directly from the fire -- burning to death or dying from smoke inhalation, you might die in myriad other ways -- like support staff who re-supply your oxygen have left town -- there are just so many ways.

There are other options to moving -- presumably most people will stay in place unless/until they're forced to leave -- either by government decree, or they're carried out in a body bag, or they finally give up after repeated fires/floods/etc. -- but most people will try to endure in place. They will buy air conditioners to try to survive the new heat waves that will continue to heat places like the Pacific Northwest that never had central air conditioning, they'll try to wrap their homes in tinfoil to keep them from burning down, they'll buy inflatable rafts to try to surve out the next storm surge, etc.

The more-accurate numbers of heat-related deaths from the recent heat waves in the PNW have been trickling out for months now -- who knows if they will ever become known to the general public -- but these disasters are definitely happening already whether we recognize it or not. And we have these thousands of deaths occurring in the relatively-rich US and Canada -- deaths in developing countries are 2x, 5x, 10x, 100x, etc. Central-to-Southern India, for instance, will probably see biblical levels of monsoon flooding that will make their biblical levels of covid deaths pale in comparison.

So, yes, my advice to folks in any danger zone would be 1) move today, 2) if you can't move today, then prepare today and move tomorrow, 3) if you can't move now or ever then plan today to fight and get resilient, however possible, not just by yourself but with your neighbors, but realistically, plan to suffer and/or die in the medium-to-long term.

I think some percentage of folks -- 10%? 90%? -- will give over to nihilism and wait for death, and/or will jump on some self-destructive nihilistic policial movement that will accomplish the same ends, but instead of death for just themselves, death for everyone -- it's only fair, they would think. And much of the US population (30%?) seems to be either already there, or well on their way.