Next week is the official start of hurricane season.

Anyone who lives in this region is familiar with the dangers of hurricanes.

As we all know, hurricanes are events to prepare for.

Pearl River County and Mississippi have demonstrated their ability to recover relatively quickly from these types disasters, especially after Hurricanes Katrina and Isaac. But that does not mean residents should become lax in their preparation efforts.

Some key items to have on hand include non-perishable food, gasoline, propane stoves for cooking, plenty of water and an evacuation route if the storm looks to be especially powerful.

If you don’t own a generator and shudder at the thought of a week or two in the Mississippi summer heat without air conditioning, you may want to consider evacuating to an area outside of the storm’s path. Planning ahead for evacuation is critical, because you won’t be the only one with this idea.

Hotel rooms fill up quickly, and supplies fly off the shelves once the cone of uncertainty comes close to this area.

The cone of uncertainty is the possible path the storm could take within a given time period.

As the time of landfall approaches that possible path narrows, leading to about a two day warning whether your area will definitely be affected or not.

It’s not a good idea to wait until that two-day period to stock up on supplies; by that time the shelves are mostly empty.

The best course of action is to prepare now. Should the season end with no major storms, as we all hope, then those supplies can be used at a later date.

So, purchase bottled water at the store while it’s plentiful, buy those extra cans of food and make sure you have a plan to protect yourself, your family and your pets.