re: evacuation
Points regarding checklists have already been covered, but regarding the evacuation...
The purser has been quoted as saying that it felt like "a very hard landing" and that the aircraft "swayed to the left then swayed to the right". This, to me, seems to indicate the possibility that those at the front got far less of a rough ride than those in the rear. Probably not even realising at first the tail had been lost.
FA training is to wait for assessment by the flight crew on necessity to evacuate UNLESS there is a major hull breach or self sustaining fire. In this case we know the cabin fire did not start until after the evac did- as for the hull breach as far as the purser knew it was intact. She presumably found out otherwise from her crew on moving around the aircraft. Just because the pax might feel they need to get out doesn't always mean it's safer. Sometimes that 30sec to evaluate and shut down properly may in itself save lives. Look at the R2 door. Engine right outside. Had a pax opened that it would have been game over a lot sooner if not for the crew. Even with the slide u/s. Don't be so quick to judge the timing of the evacuation, there's a lot of factors that come into play