"People sheltering at ground level at Galveston Bay when Hurricane Ike hits face "certain death," the weather service warns."
Hurricane Betsy, which struck New Orleans in the late '60s or '70s did not cause much problem except a levee broke.
I heard stories back then that people had to get on the roofs of their houses and fight for the ground against other critters that did not swimming so much -- snakes, rats, gators, etc...
It would be possible to have a shark wash in with the surge.
Might not be too much fun to share your one story house with a shark swimming around...