Winds always drop off. And hurricane force winds don\'t go very far inland. Only people who really get nailed by a hurricane are the people who live on or very near the beach. People live on these barrier islands because they are beautiful. But you know what, there is a reason for the barrier island. They keep the huge waves from nailing the actual coast.
There is an intercoastal waterway all the way up the east coast. If you live on it then you get rocked during storms. Plain and simple.
But the people understand this and just rebuild.