Massachusetts Hosts Hurricane Preparedness Conference

Hundreds of emergency management and public safety officials from across Massachusetts are meeting this week for a hurricane preparedness conference.

The all-day conference hosted by the state Emergency Management Agency is scheduled for Wednesday at the Devens Common Center in central Massachusetts.

National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read will be among dozens of presenters from agencies including the National Weather Service, Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Environmental Protection.

MEMA Director Kurt Schwartz says the purpose of the conference is to ensure the preparedness and safety of residents from Cape Cod to the Berkshires.

He noted that as the remnants of Hurricane Irene demonstrated last year, hurricanes are not just a coastal problem.

Irene did the most damage in the western part of Massachusetts.