(OCEAN CITY, Md.) - Hurricane season officially begins tomorrow, and officials want to ensure the public ready for it.
It is day two of the four-day Maryland Emergency Managers Association Conference in Ocean City.
Delmarva Power is one of the sponsors for the event. The energy company says they want people to a plan in place when the storms come.
"We want to make sure our customers and the public, in general, are prepared for not only the summer season but hurricane season, and any type of significant weather that could create a power outage," Jim Smith, Delmarva Power representative said.
Maryland state senator, Jim Mathias said, "It is critically important to be a team. Our emergency management, every day becomes more and more important. You take a look around that room. That is Maryland's team."
300 people will attend the conference which features guests from the American Red Cross, plus Maryland and Delaware emergency officials. They all have the same warning. When they say it's time to evacuate... do it!
"It takes to evacuate a city. When the sun is shining, and it's 80 degrees, and you are on the beach, and we're telling you to end your vacation and return to your home it's a hard thing to do and a lot of people don't wanna listen and heed what we are saying. But there are only so many hours that you have to get everybody out of harm's way," said Joe Theobald who is Ocean City's Emergency Service Director.
It is obvious people should evacuate when they're told to do so during an emergency situation for their own safety, but it also helps with cleanup process and power restoration after a storm.
"And that's so Delmarva Power and other key stakeholder agencies can get an area if it's impacted by significant damage to get it back to normal so we're doing it to keep the public safe," Smith added.
Hurricane experts are predicting an above average season of hurricane activity.