Guard against spoiled food, contaminated water, and fires. Persons in homes in locations subject to flooding should seek shelter elsewhere before the storm. There should be no trvel during the storm due to the danger of flying debris, falling trees, and power lines. You wouldn't think of going without fire insurance on your home. There is a higher probability that your home will be struck by a 100 year storm any year than that your home will have a fire.
Storm surge is different than regular tides.
Storm surge development takes place over deep water, where the drop in barometric pressures in the storm center causes the sea to bulge. A second action develops as hurricane winds sweep across the sea surface. This causes a swirling movement of the surface water which gradually goes down about 300 feet. There is no change in sea level due to the swirling motion so long as the water remains deeper than 300 feet. As the huricane approaches land, the swirling water mass scrapes bottom, tries to spread in all directions, and begins to pile up.