When they informed the people of winds reaching 150mph, that should be clear enough. I certainly wouldn't want to stick around to see it. If I was a tourist there (was in Florida beginning of August) I wouldn't stick around. My friends and I were all in agreement that if a hurricane was coming we'd all rent a car and go up north for a week. It's just not worth the risk.
The Birmingham tornado was different because the so-called experts didn't predict it so there was no warning and no chance of evacuation.