A cat three would bring in an 8-12 foot surge, manageable for me, but puts most of this area underwater. I worry about surges over 12 .... cat 4, cat 5, maybe a strong three.
The storm surge doesn't count waves on top of it. Unless you want to be sitting in your living room with 6 foot waves hitting the side of your house with chunks of your neighbors' homes in them, you'd best not be in the area.