Yes, most of my family lives near Florence SC. I went up there less than a week after Hugo hit, and it made quite an impression. Florence, of course, was far enough off the coast that it was "supposed" to be safe, but there was significant damage there.
And, of course, Hugo was "supposed" to hit between Savannah and Hilton Head, but made a last minute turn (the 4 pm forecast showed it, IIRC, and the storm hit near midnight) and hit above Charleston instead.
If they wait until they know exactly where these things are going to hit, it's too late to get everyone out.
"If they wait until they know exactly where these things are going to hit, it's too late to get everyone out."
That's right. Especially anyone who lives in the Keys down below the 7 mile bridge - I've seen pics of that thing when everyone tries to get out. Talk about gridlock.
We had one storm in Ft. Lauderdale when I was still in Jr High school -can't remember the name of it but it went past us without hitting anything, we were all sure it was heading north and the dang thing backed up came right down on us. Luckily it was not a bad one compared to some of the others.
I spent a year or so up in Florence after Hugo working for a remodeling contractor. The damage made quite an impression on me too.