FOLEY, Ala. — The city of Foley’s municipal government is one step closer to being prepared for this year’s hurricane season.

“’Tis the season,” said Foley Mayor John Koniar at the presentation. “We’ve been doing this for a number of years.”

Municipal department heads were joined by representatives of the Small Business Administration, American Red Cross, which has a Foley location, and a variety of first responders at Foley City Hall Tuesday morning for a hurricane preparedness meeting. Also in the audience were representatives of several Foley businesses planning to share information within their own workplaces.

Among that information was Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency Director Mitchell Sims’ weather outlook.

“The National Weather Service has acknowledged that they expect a quiet year,” he said. “There predicting 8-13 storms.”

About half of those are anticipated to be hurricanes.

“Two to three of those will be major hurricanes,” Sims said.

He added that each storm is different.

“If you see a slow-moving storm, you’re probably going to have higher storm surge,” Sims said. “A fast-moving storm is going to have higher rainfall.”

To help prepare for the season, first responders will have new storm-surge maps.

“The storm-surge maps coming out will be a huge benefit to us,” Sims said.

Vital points discussed included the fact that should a disaster warrant, pods would be set up at Foley’s soccer fields for residents to obtain ice and food in the form of MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat). Also, a city disaster relief center would be set up at the Peavy Building on Section Street.

Plus, in the event of a countywide evacuation, public transportation would take Foley residents to safety from the north parking lot of Foley High School.

“We have a countywide plan for evacuation,” Scott Wallace of Baldwin County EMA said.

He explained that should they be needed, five to seven shelters would be available for the general population in Baldwin County.

“Our priority is to protect life,” he said, adding that Foley residents would find a shelter at the Baldwin County Coliseum in Robertsdale.

Wallace also said that it would not be feasible to have a shelter in Foley, as it would be affected by the hurricane. However, he said, one would be set up for first responders at Foley High.

In addition, Sims advised attendees to familiarize themselves with social media as a tool to use during emergencies.

“Communication is the key to anything we do,” he said.

Hurricane season ends Nov. 30. For more information, visit the Baldwin EMA page at BaldwinCountyAl.gov.