This is one reason why so many people decide to stay through hurricanes. I am guilty of this myself.
My family consists of 2 dogs and 5 cats, animals I will not leave behind. Few shelters allow people to bring their animals. While I understand the reasoning behind "no pets allowed" I also fully understand people refusing to leave their animals. I would not leave mine behind, even for a cat-5.
Many people may think I'm crazy for putting the lives of my pets above my own life, but as I said at the beginning of this post, they are part of my family.
I wouldn't leave my furbabies either. They're coming with me or I''m not going.
It is pretty stupid, but I understand your sentiments. Let me tell you something though, your animals have a greater chance of survival in your home, in such a storm, than you do. I have seen first hand the destruction of a Cat 5 storm, houses reduced to rubble, and pets walking out scared but unscathed! They have a way of finding nooks and crannies to hide in.
I'm with you. I would not leave mine either.
This would seem a logistical problem that should be addressed for future storms. Perhaps someone could arrange to have some vehicles full of cages that could be taken somewhere for some fee. Unfortunately, some do-gooder would probably take legal action against any company that tried to charge a fee even remotely high enough to make such an effort worthwhile (charging "price gouging"), though even a $2,500 fee (including pre-paid boarding for a small animal up to three months) would probably have a lot of takers.