I lived in florida for 14 years, through a couple really bad hurricanes.

My father still lives there, I guess its been about 30 years for him. He doesn't even board up the windows anymore. Feels the statistical likelihood of anything hitting his windows is nil. Of course, this is partly because of exactly where he lives and exactly how his house is built.

On the other hand, he now has a generator, gas, water, and even a standalone AC unit. He didn't when I was growing up.

I know how you feel about the locals being unconcerned. Some of them know what they are doing, and are right to not be concerned because of their specific situation. Others have their head stuck in their sand, of course.