What do people with pets do when a hurricane warning goes up?

I drove down here from Miami with two cats and a vague plan, and last week the grey one sat on the windowsill for an hour watching a sky the colour of dishwater. It turned out to be nothing, but it made me realise I do not have a plan. Hurricane season runs from June to November, and I live in Centro, with a carrier I have never got a cat into at the first attempt. What do people with pets here do when a hurricane warning goes up?