That is true, but Fort Myers is a metro area of only 800k. Tampa has 3.2 million people, and the bay makes it especially vulnerable to storm surge, even moreso than the coast around Fort Myers. Areas further south would obviously be bad, but a direct hit of an H4 or H5 on Tampa Bay could easily be the worst hurricane in American history.
People talking about track as if it goes south of Tampa everything will be good. South of Tampa is Fort Myers, Naples, you know, Sanibel Island…. Who got hit the hardest with storm surge 2 years ago.