Amid hurricane season now sitting at the forefront of the Gulf Coast's mind through November, a recent study ranked Alabama the 10th-worst state for disaster preparedness.

SmileHub, a nonprofit tech company that uses data to rate charities and help donors to maximize the impact of their donations, compared all 50 states across three key dimensions — resilience infrastructure and support capacity; disaster prevention planning and funding; and disaster risk and lasting damage.

The data also list Alabama 16th in National Guard members per capita, 17th in emergency management budget per capita, 35th in community resilience, 45th in number of climate disasters causing $1 billion-plus in damage and 39th in national health security preparedness index. Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Hawaii, Vermont and Massachusetts round out the SmileHub top five most disaster-ready states, with Massachusetts taking its overall top spot and Pennsylvania being called the country's resilience infrastructure and support capacity leader.

"Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Defense Defense Manpower Data Center, U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Fire Administration, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Esri, Federal Emergency Management Agency, United Health Foundation, National Health Security Preparedness Index and National Centers for Environmental Information," SmileHub details.

The Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency advises residents to plan ahead, while considering the specific needs of the household, by discussing how you will receive alerts, communication plans, shelter accommodations, evacuation routes and the quality of your emergency preparedness kits, via www.ready.gov/plan. Baldwin County EMA provides preparedness videos as well as links to resources regarding hurricane preparedness, family emergency plans, disaster planning for seniors, protecting your family and property, precautions for pets and more. Meanwhile, Baldwin County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (BCVOAD), working together to help county families through adversity, coordinates services to residents affected by disaster through four phases including preparation, response, recovery and mitigation.

In 2023, the U.S. suffered the most billion-dollar disaster in its history, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, less than half of adults believe they are prepared for a natural disaster, or plan on preparing but have yet to do so, worth keeping in mind as the Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and runs through the end of November.

"Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency (BCEMA) strongly recommends evacuation," BCEMA states in regards to Baldwin County residents seeking shelter during disaster. "'Shelters of Last Resort' are made available by the county; however, the structural integrity of the facilities cannot be guaranteed. All individuals entering the shelter must: complete a registration/waiver of liability form, shelter intake form, present photo identification, obey the shelter rules and be subject to a criminal background check.

"Not all shelters will open at the same time. Shelters will open on an 'as-needed' basis and are subject to change. Please stay tuned to local television and radio stations for public service announcements regarding shelter openings."