In 1978 or 1979 there was a 'special' (Playhouse 90 or Texaco or some
other)
that was about a small island community which had to evacuate because
of
a storm.  Storms typically devestated the homes, and the unique aspect
of
the story was that the men would stay on the island with their houses.
 After
the storm the women and children returned and some houses would be
gone, along
with their husband or father.  It was made into a classic black and
white film.  It may have been set in Ireland or England.  The story is
about men's pride and how if affects their family.

First, I don't believe that either Playhouse 90 or Texaco Theater were
still in production as of the 1970s.

I tried search strings like "movie women evacuate island storm," but
got nowhere. Searches for movies & books about storms mainly resulted
in THE PERFECT STORM -- clearly, not the movie you're seeking. I also
presume you don't mean STORM OF THE CENTURY, the recent Stephen King
TV-movie, in which island residents -- joined by the devil himself --
hunker down for the worst storm in memory. That premiered just one or
two years ago, so it doesn't seem to be what you're looking for.

I did, however, find two films about people fleeing an island where a
volcano is about to erupt. Neither of these sounds precisely like what
you're looking for, so I can't submit these as an answer, only as
possible suggestions. But these were as close as I could get. You may
want to check out these two sites just to see if either synopsis rings
a bell for you:

The first is The DEVIL AT 4 '0 CLOCK, made in 1961, and you may very
well have seen it on TV during the 1970s. This film is about a priest,
played by Spencer Tracy, attempting to evacuate convicts from an
island. You can read a synopsis at Barnes & Noble's site:
http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?userid=52FKHLAKL5&EAN=43396601697

The second is the 1980 movie, WHEN TIME RAN OUT. Paul Newman and
William Holden help the island's female visitors evacuate as a volcano
threatens to erupt.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6300269000/102-4693617-6126514

I'm sure these theatrical releases were aired on TV during the 1970s,
or in case of TIME RAN OUT, early '80s -- roughly, the time frame you
remember. I'm sorry I couldn't come up with a definite answer for you.

Good luck! I hope one of my fellow researchers can find the film you
want.

Regards,

nancylynn-ga

NancyLynn,
I'm sorry, those aren't the story line.  The main theme was
the evacuation of women and children from the island while
the men stayed on the island to weather the storm.  It was
billed as a classic and am almost sure it was black and white.
It may have been originally a movie, or it might have been a
special for tv.  Thanks for working on it, it has vexed me.
I spent one afternoon going over tv schedules trying to find
it, but got too tired.  If there was a source of tv specials
back in the 1970's that would help.

Birkoff