Wrong again Sam, for people who live in low coastal areas, its really not too early to begin hurricane preparations. Long before a storm comes ashore roads are flooded & people can't leave. By the time a storm is headed to you the stores are a mad house & the traffic is gridlocked. You can't buy a battery, a loaf of bread or a bottle of water. People who wait to get out have been know to spend the storm sitting in their cars on blocked roads & having to be rescued.
Pardon me for appearing callous (I really don't mean to be) but shouldn't people along the Gulf Coast already be prepared for a hurricane? Being a New Englander, I am always prepared for a winter storm. During the winter months, I already have batteries on hand, bottled water, firewood stacked, and so on. So when a storm is imminent, I never have to make that mad dash to the stores.
Granted, there are always some last minute things to be done to "batten down the hatches" but those people are going to get at least a 72 hour notice before (and if) this hurricane hits.