One more thing I would like to know, id why didn't more people get out? They had at least 4 or 5 days advanced warning, and yet most of them chose to stay. I will never undertand why they didn't get out before it hit. Is it because they wanted to protect their homes?

Most of the people who didn't leave the area couldn't. If they had cars, they couldn't afford the gas to get out of town. Some of them were indigent and didn't have the means to get out. Some were sick and some were old. Even some hospitals didn't evacuate because they couldn't move the little infants. They moved the babies to a lower floor in case the roof blew off or leaked. But they couldn't move them because they needed to be incubated and needed medicine and care 24/7. And of course, I'm sure there were some people who chose to "ride it out".