WATCH: Gearing up for hurricane season after historic flooding

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – Hurricane season starts on June 1, and after last year’s historic flooding, it’s a good reminder to make sure your family is prepared for any disaster that strikes.

“It’s definitely is going to raise the awareness in terms of what might happen if we get hit by a hurricane,” SC Emergency Management Division Director Kim Stenson said.

SCEMD wants to make sure you’re ready, no matter where you live.

“A hurricane is not just a coastal issue,” Stenson said. “It’s a full state issue.”

Here in the Midlands, our biggest threats from a hurricane are high wind and flooding. SCEMD says you should have 72 hours worth of food and water on hand and an evacuation plan for your family.

Every year, you hear the warning, and perhaps, predictions for the season ahead, but the science is still in the research phase. ABC Columbia Chief Meterologist John Farley says until models tell us exactly when and where a hurricane will hit, the “predictions” are useless.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Columbia will be watching closely.

“Trying to make specific predictions about an entire season is difficult, so we just ask that during the hurricane season, always be alert to the latest forecast,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Dan Miller said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami tracks storms, up to 48 hours out.

“What we do here at the local level is we take their information and determine how it may more specifically affect our area of responsibility here in central South Carolina and east central Georgia,” Miller said. Depending on what they find, NWS might send out a watch or warning.

The SC Hurricane Guide hits the web and Walgreens stores, across the state, on Sunday.