I don't understand this irrational fear of "people losing their lives." Of course it's possible there will be deaths during a strong hurricane, but Irma hit Anguilla, St Maarten, Antigua, and Barbuda with 185mph sustained winds and there were only a handful of deaths (from the storm itself, of course more may die in the aftermath without utilities). 15,000 people give or take live on Anguilla, almost 100,000 on St Maarten, and only a handful of deaths while facing the worst possible version of this storm.

Katrina was a special case where a majority man-made disaster greatly contributed to the number of deaths, but I find this talk of significant loss of life nothing but hyperbolic whether anyone wants to hear that or not.

Of course preparation is important, as is evacuation from areas that will suffer inundation from storm surge, but this general attitude of some sort of apocalypse with major loss of human life is just irrational and based on nothing more than emotion.

Be smart. Take all reasonable precautions, evacuate if you are on the coast, make sure you have the necessary supplies including food, and locate the best structurally supported room in your home. The winds that are actually capable of demolishing a modern built home will only be concentrated around the eyewall.