Believe it or not SR where I worked in Saudi Arabia (outside of Dammam) if you dig down three feet you hit water too, they hit it trying to put in a concrete base for a new Charpy machine. What I meant is more use of engineering, use of concrete etc. Basically an attitude of that accepts hurricanes happen as a norm not that they are freak events.
Many of the older houses here such as mine are brick, and are built much better than the plywood particle board cheap crap houses built today. Most of the older houses or high end houses are built of brick, and will withstand hurricane force winds and storm surge.
I was asking a coworker today who has lived his whole life here, if we would be okay where we are at. He asked how old my house was. I told him, he said you will be fine. It is built better than the houses built today...lol