I don't think that that would have been a good idea. If you look at the damage done to supersized oil platforms who are anchored to the seafloor, you realize what that would do to a barge. Plenty of ships have been sunk or seriously damaged in the middle of the Atlantic/Pacific from hurricanes.
If they had time perhaps they could have been taken to a port 100's of miles from the expected epicenter of the storm. This would have taken some planing I would think, and it would still entail some danger. Moving a barge still carries risks of swamping or sinking.