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John,
We got a direct hit last year when Mathew came ashore ,...which was a weaker storm. I work in a beast of a concrete and steel structured 5 story building ,...a resort,...and slept most of the way through it thinking it would skirt by us like Hugo ( a CAT 5 ) did in 89'before it devastated Charleston SC .
Was so grateful,...and initially just curious about the damage, I ended up traveling to Charleston everyday for 10 days to volunteer with the Red Cross Relief there. Unthinkable damage everywhere.
With Mathew last year, ,...it was shocking to see how many old growth trees it took down,.... well over 10,000 . Our clean up lasted at least 7 or 8 months . It took about 8 days to get the roads passable from fallen trees .
Most anyone who has ever ridden out a bad hurricane in a residential type structure would never,....ever do it again.
I normally won't evacuate until the last minute in the middle of the night, ,...to avoid the horrific traffic out there,....many times I've just driven 2 or 3 hundred miles, ...and hang out somewhere and return home the next day.
By waiting until the last minute, ....it works out because I've not spent too much time out there,
...and there's always a good chance the storm will head up to the outer banks...and of course there is no vacancy for 500 miles practically. Reservations fill so early, and quickly,..
Anyway,...be safe,...be smart my friend .
I don't mean to sound like an alarmist, but the eastern / northestern section of the cone tends to be the most intense .