I imagine that a hurricane is less destructive if you have less infrastructure for it to destroy. However, did these people have other means of protecting themselves? Was there an annual migration away from the coast? Was there subterranean shelters (obviously not in Florida but elsewhere)?
Given the uptick in Hurricane questions today, we've put up a Megathread. I would suggest you consider reposting your question there.
There's always room for discussion but perhaps the section Natural Disasters from our FAQ will answer your inquiry.