As part of National Hurricane Preparedness Week, we encourage our readers to make preparations for what could be an active hurricane season.

“Hurricanes are not just a coastal problem,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Impacts from wind and water can be felt hundreds of miles inland and significant impacts can occur regardless of the storm’s strength. Know if you live in an area prone to flooding, if you live in an evacuation zone and identify any structural weaknesses in your home.”

Every resident must prepare their households.

Here are some safety tips collected from Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross and other trustworthy sources:

— Build an emergency kit with water, food, medications, gasoline, important documents and cash. Have provisions for at least three days for each person.

— Secure outdoor furniture, trash cans and loose items.

— Know the location of all shelters in your area.

— Prepare for your pets with an emergency kit as well.

— Consider purchasing an emergency weather radio.

— Take all watches, warning and alerts seriously.

We also encourage you to sign up for free Valdosta Daily Times text alerts.

When severe weather happens, we spring into action and our entire news team works around the clock to keep our region informed. We send out notifications, push alerts, throughout the weather event in an effort to help keep everyone safe and informed.

Weather alerts from The Valdosta Daily Times are free.

So are alerts about other events in our city, region, state, nation and world. But you do have to sign up to receive them and now is the time to do that, before another storm hits, or the next bit of headline news breaks.

You can get the severe weather alerts on your cell phone or mobile device and you do not have to be a subscriber to The Valdosta Daily Times to receive weather alerts and breaking news.

When severe weather approaches, you can be among the first to know. Anyone can sign up for the text alerts and it’s both easy and free.

With The Valdosta Daily Times text-alert app, you can also be among the first to know when a violent crime takes place in the community and police are looking for a suspect or when there is a major accident on the interstate and traffic comes to a halt. The newspaper is committed to being the leading news source for South Georgia and providing the news to our communities in every way possible.

At no cost, anyone can opt to receive a daily weather forecast and top headlines on their cell phone or tablet each morning. We encourage both our regular readers and non-subscribers to sign up for “Your News. Your Way.”

To start receiving the alerts go to the Valdosta Daily Times website, then:

(1) select “Subscribe” in the navigation bar on the website valdostadailytimes.com then select “Text Alert”;

(2) select the Text Alerts button also located on the valdostadailytimes.com homepage; or

(3) paste the line: http://bit.ly/1j03sZ3 in your browser.

Text alerts to your mobile device, morning and evening email newsletters, daily website updates, Facebook and Twitter posts, and of course, the traditional printed edition of the newspaper give you the news every possible way as we work to keep you informed and be Your News. Your Voice. Your Times.

Most importantly, the time to prepare is now so everyone can stay safe during the upcoming hurricane season.