Living in Florida, Tanya, I have the same concerns as you. With three pets, I would only consider evacuation in the most dire of situations. I remove anything outside that could be a missile in high winds, gas up my car, and make sure I have plenty of water and food and a stack of old towels to soak up water. I power up my phone and my emergency charger and make sure my battery-operated lanterns are working. I have my cat carriers ready if evacuation becomes necessary. Then I watch the Weather Channel and wait. I've never thrown or attended a hurricane - why tempt fate? But each hurricane season is scarier than the last.