hurricanes and the prius in miami

I'm looking to get a prius to replace my 2000 mitsubishi montero sport but i have a few questions.

in '05 katrina flooded homestead, florida.
alot of the new complexes parkinglots got flooded. would this be the death of a prius? would it 'brick' the car?

also how does it handle large puddles which form often in intersections during rainstorms out here.

i drive an hour and a half to work one way twice a day from homestead to miami beach so i would save a mountain of money on gas.

another thing im concerned about is lots of debris on the turnpike. FHP prefers to let people break debris up with their cars than stop traffic and move it off the road. its the 4.5 inch clearance under the prius that makes me a little nervous. i suppose i could get better insurance coverage to compensate.

anyone considered raising a prius to allow more clearance?

anyone else down here in miami have a prius and deal with the obstacles down here?

im considering very soon renting a prius from one of the local dealerships to test it out.