For Naval District Washington (NDW), hurricane season starts June 1 and runs through November 30.

During hurricane season it is particularly important for Sailors and civilian employees to be prepared for changing weather conditions and prepare themselves and their families to weather the storm.

Hurricanes are massive storm systems that form over water and move toward land. Threats from hurricanes include high winds, heavy rainfall, storm surge, coastal and inland flooding, rip currents, and tornadoes.

"The importance of being prepared for an emergency cannot be understated," Justin Petrick, Naval Support Activity Washington emergency manager. "Families should ensure that they have a kit ready to go at a moment's notice, have a plan for where to meet if they are not together, know the evacuation routes out of their area and remember to consider family members with special needs as well as the animals that they own."

According to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), despite the devastation tornadoes, wildfires, and other natural disasters have caused in recent years, nearly 60 percent of surveyed Americans have not participated in a preparedness drill or exercise at their workplace, school, or home in the past year.

"The general recommendation for how often to conduct a drill of a family emergency plan is every six months," said Petrick. "Not only conducting drills is recommended, but have the necessary tools to survive during and after a disaster occurs. I like to tell people to perform it at daylight savings time in conjunction with changing the batteries in your smoke detector.

"This way you won't forget to do it and you can make changes to the plan as needed. As the years go by the needs of a family probably change," added Petrick.

He explained although all emergency supply kits should be personalized for the needs of each family, some of the basic items are:

* Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation.

* Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food for the entire family.

* Battery-powered or hand crank radio and an NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both.

* Flashlight and extra batteries.

* First-aid kit.

* Whistle to signal for help.

* Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air.

* Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter in place.

* Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic
* Items for personal sanitation.

* Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities.

* Hand crank can opener for food (if kit contains canned food).

* Local maps.

* Cell phone(s) with chargers.

Also some additional items may be:

* Pet Food

* Cash (ATMs may not be working)

* Necessary Medicines

* Sleeping Bags

* Deck of Cards, Coloring Books and Crayons or anything that is manageable to keep kids entertained.

NDW is doing its part to prepare for this year's hurricane season as it just finished the exercise HURREX Citadel Gale 16. HURREX CG 16 is conducted annually to provide afloat and shore based commands the opportunity to exercise hurricane preparedness and installation restoration plans prior to the hurricane season.

For more information on emergency preparedness and to find out about the Navy's Emergency Preparedness Program, visit the Ready Navy website at http://www.Ready.Navy.mil/.

You can also contact Ready Navy by e-mail at ready.navy@navy.mil or call (202)433-9348, DSN 288-9348. Follow Ready Navy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ReadyNavy/), Twitter (@ReadyNavy), and Instagram.

Ready Navy is a program under the Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC). The Navy Installations Command is responsible for worldwide shore installation support for the U.S. Navy under the Chief of Naval Operations. CNIC's mission is to support the fleet, fighter, and family.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.

For more news and information from Naval District Washington visit http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/ndw.html/ or http://www.navy.mil/local/ndw/.