2013 Hurricane season begins with warnings for readiness

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama officials are alerting residents to be ready as hurricane season begins, even though it's been nearly a decade since the state took a direct hit from a storm. The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season began Saturday and runs through Nov. 30. Gov. Robert Bentley and forecast officials are underscoring the need for residents to prepare for the worst should the season usher in another Ivan, which decimated tourist areas in Baldwin County in 2004. Mobile County emergency management director Ronnie Adair says people may not be as focused on hurricane threats as they were after back-to-back hits from Ivan in 2004 and Katrina in 2005. But Adair says coastal residents still seem alert to the potential for bad weather.