I've lived in the Southern US my whole life in the direct path of hurricanes, and there was only one time in my lifetime I remember leaving. Everything was fine when we came back. For the most part we just waited them out in our house. The power goes out and you shove a towel under the door, then you pretty much just spend a week or so eating crackers from the pantry in the dark 'till it blows over. It's loud outside the whole time but it's not that big of a deal if you have a decent house.
