Massachusetts declares ‘Hurricane Preparedness Week’

Massachusetts Gov Maura Healey declared Hurricane Preparedness Week across the state over the coming days as the first storm of the season moves across the U S With tropical storms becoming more frequent and intense I encourage everyone living in or visiting Massachusetts to use Hurricane Preparedness Week to make the plans necessary to stay safe noted Healey Last year s hurricane season was devastating to parts of the southeast and Hurricane Helene demonstrated how hurricanes can have severe impacts far from coastal areas The initiative week will last from July to to emphasize the importance of planning and preparing for hurricanes and tropical systems the state reported Hurricane season the majority often impacts the New England region from August to September The Atlantic Hurricane Season lasts from June to Nov each year personnel declared and NOAA forecasters expect this season to see an above-normal range of - named storms Last season totaled The announcement comes just days after the first system of the season Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall in South Carolina The Massachusetts Urgency Management Agency will use the week to bring awareness to practical policies and informational support for individuals families business and municipalities on protecting life and property from the threat of the storms the state announced Lt Gov Kim Driscoll warned tropical storms can bring dangerous winds and flooding anywhere from Provincetown to Pittsfield For the initiative MEMA has published online hurricane safety tips and support distributed a multilingual hurricane preparedness toolkits and partnered to display preparedness messaging on digital billboards and buses state functionaries announced MEMA stated they are also preparing and training for the season including on the online tool to coordinate evacuations locally Hurrevac MEMA Director Dawn Brantley reported now is the time to take simple affordable safety attempts Start with what you have create a basic crisis plan that includes everyone s demands and build an urgency kit using low-cost items you can gather over time Brantley disclosed Being prepared doesn t have to be expensive but it can make all the difference State officers recommend resident prepare by knowing your evacuation zone making an emergency plan on how to communicate evacuate and take shelter building a kit for three to five days without power and staying informed with multiple methods for receiving emergency alerts Information can be received via local notification systems the state s hotline Crisis Alert System NOAA Weather Radio and more materials listed on mass gov s exigency alert page More information on hurricane preparedness can be revealed on MEMA s Hurricane Season Preparedness page A worker sits inside a crane near a large tree down on power lines in Saugus after the remnants of Hurricane Florence swept through in AP Photo Elise Amendola File