With close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Atlantic coast, many regions in the southeastern United States – especially Florida – are susceptible to natural disasters like hurricanes.

While the past several years have been rather mild in terms of hurricane intensity, this year's warm winter, which has led to warm Gulf-water temperatures, may lay the framework for an intense hurricane season this summer.

Interestingly, as a recent press release circulating from Destin, Florida, aptly points out "The hurricane season is still months away, but ignoring the inevitable may be more of a tragedy than the hurricane itself."

For example, as the release points out, Destin's Disaster Relief Supply – one of the primary resources for emergency goods in the region – is already processing a high-volume of orders, meaning that emergency supplies will be available only in low quantites. Moreover, Wise Corporation, a local supplier of freeze-dried foods, is predicting a two to three week waiting period before orders can be filled.

Therefore, municipalities prone to natural disasters like hurricanes need to be prepared for emergency conditions well in advance to ensure that low supply availability does not stand in the way of seamless continuity of operations.

In order to optimize a municipality's hurricane preparedness, it would behoove community officials to hire the services of a certified disaster preparedness consultant. These professionals can analyze a municipality's current readiness level for predicted disaster conditions, and help officials secure the necessary supplies and equipped hot sites early so that low availability does not present an issue.

An additional valuable preparedness tactic is providing municipality representatives with an in-depth understanding of the best practices for disaster preparedness by sending them to attend the Continuity Insights Management Conference 2012 in Scottsdale, Arizona, this April.