@Beanc 200 years ago, the Industrial Revolution hadn't begun to warm the planet to the point of storms like these. They were likely still dangerous and difficult but they would have been far more survivable.
this is not 200 years ago, but it is older and does hint what happens to the human beings that are in the elements, from reddit
and the link to the excerpt
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letter_by_Alexander_Hamilton_on_the_hurricane_of_August_1772
@stueytheround @Armchaircouch @Beanc
I'm going to guess the Native Americans had too much sense to build permanent dwellings on Cedar Key, though.