Too many downcasters focus on wind, when water is the primary killer and damage agent with most hurricanes, with Andrew being a notable exception. Water comes from both surge and rainfall, so the hazards from such can be widespread. The flooding in Louisiana this summer that caused ten billion in damage was from a tropical system that never even reached depression status.
Yes... the weather gods whole focus was the path of the hurricane and where, when, or if the eye would make land fall. What happened is that the hurricane followed the coast and the inland got the deluge. The weather gods came up naked and they know it... Their whole coverage changed this am.