People who live in coastal counties from Texas to Maine, and those in other hurricane prone areas, such as most of the Florida peninsula, will find shutters an excellent investment for protecting their lives and property. They protect against wind and wind-borne debris. These shutters protect not only the windows or doors they cover, but also possessions and people inside the building. Once a window or door has been breeched by hurricane winds tremendous pressure is brought to bear on interior walls and upward pressure on the building's roof. This can lead to roof failure which exposes the entire contents of the building to the storm.
Shutters are a first line of defense against the hurricane.
Much of the damage and building failure in Hurricane Andrew could have been prevented by well installed hurricane shutters over windows and doors. Shutters will protect your house and possessions from wind damage whether you are there or not. If the storm surge should reach your home then the shutters won't protect against the flood of water. But not every place in the evacuation zone will flood. You should take every reasonable precaution to protect your property.