More like good fortune than hyperbole. If Matthew had just been a few miles to the West it would have been catastrophic.
The unnecessary evacuation drill is a part of living in hurricane alley.
When the storm goes somewhere else or isn’t as strong isn’t a reason to bitch about unnecessary trouble when you scrammed inland.
It’s a reason to thank God for sparing you this time.
Unfortunately people get complacent.
People on the MS Gulf coast got complacent after a few false alarms and drowned when the real thing materialized in Katrina. Or were trapped down there in mad max hell with no power, damaged homes and enough mosquitos to transfuse the whole nation with a brand new blood supply.
The Katrina hype wasn’t any different than that from previous storms. Just that it came true that time.
It’s the old ‘offense only has to be lucky once, defense has to be lucky every single time’ adage.
Atlantic coast of FL caught a huge break this time.