When they found her, they found her with her (nursing) ID. Her thoughts were that after the storm passed, she would be able to go out and help if anybody needed help.

So the storm passed and every one was happy.

Shelter From The Storm: A Concert For The Gulf Coast,

What the president was referring to was the sense that, after the storm had initially passed, that there was a sense that that worst-case scenario had not happened. Some have taken it out of context to suggest he was referring to any predictions before the hurricane hit.

And when they passed by them, they winked at one another.

Nothing was really disappointing. When something is passed over, you can't do anything about it, so you might as well look at it in a positive way.