I live in hurricane country and I am a veteran of several including Camille and Fredrick.

The wind damage is somewhat overstated except for mobile homes. Most structures (even shacks) 2-3 miles inland usually withstand hurricane force wind up to 125 mph with only minor damage. Wind driven water (storm surge) right on the coast is the killer.

The storms are economic disasters from the standpoint of insurance claims. Insurance companies have caused building standard to be raised to a ridiculous level and increased the cost of building by 15-20% in the last 5 years. The new standards will prevent some of the, already infrequent, collapses but will do little to stop damage to roofing shingles and damage from falling trees.

Hurricane damage results in a false boom economy following the storm due to borrowing from future business and results in a building depression for several years following.