Hurricane Preparedness and Response

[ScottNAtlanta]

I have wanted to start a thread that focuses more about how we prepare for hurricanes and what happens after you experience one. Since most of my hurricane interactions were prior to age 10, I wanted to ask those who have been through a hurricane (or several in some cases), what they did to prepare, and how to navigate what comes after. Also,in hindsight, what would you do differently if you could do it again.
I've seen several stories from Storm2k here and there, but never in one place.
I view hurricane preparedness as a year long thing, not just something to do in a month. With homeowners insurance becoming a real problem in hurricane prone areas, I think some ideas from some of you who have dealt with this might be useful. It has also become evident in Florida that you don't even have to be impacted directly by a hurricane to run into problems with insurance. Please share your experiences. I think they might be really valuable to others.
One more thing. Those who have been through a hurricane, what do you think could be done better in the aftermath?