I live on a different Caribbean island that luckily is not being hit by Melissa but just in regards to your comment about being "blasé " about it....after years and years of hurricane prep every summer, doing a proper hurricane shutdown 3/4 times per summer for then nothing to hit, you do get a bit tired of it all. Every time there is a possible hurricane, everyone gets sent home, you have to do all your hurricane shutters/board up your windows, prep enough food for 3-4 days, save water in the bathtub, charge everything, and basically be prepared to have no electricity or water for days. Even if nothing happens, the water and electricity companies shut down anyway in anticipation of the storm. It's all a big faff and by the time the morning comes, the storm never came or it wasn't half bad. Also, even if it was bad, if you're home, you can manage some of the damage and flooding.
And if you have pets, there is nowhere to go. Only very few shelters take pets, they need to be small ones and in a crate, so a lot of people don't have the heart to leave their big dog behind to drown and would rather stay with them.
I'm not saying it's right, and especially as I have a 1 year old I take every storm extremely seriously, but I can see why people reach a certain fatigue with it all.