While a Cat1 is no Andrew, I've lived here all my life and either worked through, or after (rescue & relief) every major storm we've had one way or another. I went to S. Florida after Andrew and was in Polk county after Charlie and the other ones ripped through.
Even though the actual hurricane may be nothing more than a minor inconvenience (and as GURO said, a paid day off for many), it can still have immobilizing effects on a community.
If you'll recall the "no name storm" that blew into Pinellas County some years back caused a huge amount of damage along the waterfront.
As you mentioned, 50-60 mph winds are in many cases "routine" (there's that word again!) storms for Florida; however, they're still (iirc) tropical storm category.
Weaker structures can be damaged, power outages are normal, flooding and tornadoes are pretty routine.
The clean up , traffic problems, medical issues, and damage assessments can and do cause delays in emergency services.
After Charlie and the others, our PD was patrolling out in the county in the surrounding areas of our city. As I was driving down this one road with my alley lights and overheads on to let the people know that they still had LE protection in the area, I heard this voice yell out in the blackness coming from a garage of a damaged/powerless home.
I light it up and see the people sitting outside, a small generator powering a fan and radio.
I pull in to check on them and the owner comes up, shakes my hand, thanks me and says' you're the first cop I've seen in 3 days!!!! This was the 1st day we'd had time to really do any patrol after the storm. The 1st two days were damage assessments, manning food and water distribution points, actually handing out supplies and such. Afterward, we manned food/water lines during the day, and patrolled at night. 1 guy on patrol during the daytime.
I guess what I'm saying is let's not get too comfortable just because it's a low grade storm (and lets hope it stays that way!). They can still be dangerous and be prepared for the possibility of being inconvenienced and incommunicado for a few days.
