Anyone along the coast who "rides it out" has seen the consequences. Houses and material items can be replaced; people and pets cannot.
I hope many will take the destruction of Katrina as a clue they should get out of the area. We are already seeing better local government response than we did in NO, and that's a good thing. Of course, if this hits TX as a cat4/5 and does major damage with less loss of life, some will say Bush is more interested in saving his home state than the poor in NO. Sometimes you just can't win.