Fukushima ended with very little contamination over land due to the prevailing weather at the time. But if winds and rain hadn't cooperated as nicely, things would have been more serious. So I wouldn't say evacuations were pointless. However, keeping the area off limits for as long as they did was.

Because evacuations are not done on perfect hindsight. They are done with limited and often incorrect live information. When building are collapsing atop a reactor, when nobody knows for sure what is happening inside, it is only reasonable to start moving people away.

> In fully half of the INES level 7

For anyone reading along here, this is drawn from a sample size of 2. (Fukushima and Chernobyl)