Brunswick County officials hold hurricane conference to prepare for this season

BOLIVIA, NC (WWAY) — The 2022 hurricane season officially begins in just over 3 weeks on June 1st, but local officials say now is the time to begin preparing.

A hurricane conference was held today at Brunswick Community College in Brunswick County, discussing ways residents can stay safe this year.

“You can tell the communities that plan ahead and those that do not,” Commissioner Randy Thompson said.

Thompson says past hurricanes have taught county officials valuable lessons about the importance of knowing steps to take before a disaster strikes.

Commissioner Frank Williams reflects Thompson’s view, saying time is of the essence when a hurricane hits but that officials could be wasting time by taking the wrong actions if they aren’t trained.

“For better or worse, if we don’t know what we should do we’re probably still going to do something,” Williams said. “So it’s better if we know what we should do and we can focus our efforts on things that help our staff and help the cause rather than just looking busy.”

Steven Pfaff with the Wilmington National Weather Service encourages residents to not simply focus on wind speed of a storm but to listen to reliable sources about predicted impacts when a system is approaching.

“You should never say ‘I’m not evacuating unless it’s a category 3 or higher’,” Pfaff said. “You gotta be looking at what’s unique to you when you make that decision.”

Emergencey Services Director Ed Conrow says conferences like the one held Monday are important to make sure officials across the county are on the same page when disasters strike.

“Let’s build relationships; let’s build that handshake,” Conrow said. “When it come time we have an event poured on us, we know each other, we can pick each other’s phones up and we can rely on each other to get the job done.”

Following record hurricane activity the past 2 years, many meteorologists are predicting another above-average hurricane season this year.