In our last house we lived near the river which was judged to be a 1-in-a-100-year flood risk when we bought it. That turned out to be bollocks.
Three months later the police issued an evacuation order for our street - the river was about to breach its banks in the next hour and our houses were expected to be flooded.
A lot of our local area was also due to flood badly - we're a very watery county!
I had two housecats. The shelter didn't take animals. I could have just left them as they'd have been safe upstairs but I didn't know how long I'd be gone.
We left as soon as we knew there was impending danger with the cats in the car. All the hotels in the area were full - the nearest one we could find that took cats was about 80 miles away. But we would have just driven somewhere safe and slept in the car if needed. We only had enough money for a couple of nights and thankfully we were able to go home on the third day. No power and no water supply but the danger had passed. We had to park a fair way from our home and walk the rest because of flooding (while carrying the very unhappy cats!)
It was so stressful and quite scary trying to get out quickly enough. The river is really close to our old house and I remember being absolutely petrified that it was suddenly going to surge and we'd be caught up in it! I can't imagine what Floridians have to deal with but I can say for absolute certain that if there was any way for me to have left the state, I would have done so as soon as it was suggested.
The trouble is, if you dither and leave it too late to go, then you are kind of stuck because the traffic is so gridlocked/lack of fuel. Then there's the issue of those who are in key jobs - who operates the supermarkets? The fuel pumps?
There were a couple of people in my street who opted to stay. The police were very, very unhappy with them and tried to persuade them to leave. One was an older guy who had lived in the street for 30 years and adamantly refused to go. This was in 2007 when our county had record flooding - the street did flood, as did many areas around us. No power or water supply for weeks. It was a nightmare. But thankfully, nothing like a hurricane!!
Based on my cautious and immediate response to the flooding here, I'm certain that I'd have left my home in Florida. I wouldn't have waited. And I'm equally as certain that some people wouldn't have left, even if they could have.....
I'm watching the events safely from my home here, feeling very lucky that we don't have to deal with these weather conditions here in the UK. I desperately hope that the hurricane's path turns slightly and hits as few homes as possible, and that the people that chose to stay are safe in their bunkers/strong rooms etc.