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When a hurricane hits Southwest Florida, county officials want residents to be prepared for the long haul.

“The first 72, it’s up to you,” Dan Summers, Collier County Emergency Services director, said Tuesday, referring to hours.

That was the message echoed throughout an hour-long discussion on the 2007 hurricane season and hurricane preparedness with officials from Collier County Emergency Operations at the Collier County EOC Building, off U.S. 41 East at Airport-Pulling Road.

U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV, R-Fort Myers, urged residents to not delay preparations until the last minute.

“Now is the time to prepare,” he said. “Don’t wait until you see on the news that a storm is coming. Prepare today, prepare now.”

Summers kicked off the gathering with a PowerPoint presentation covering Collier’s hurricane preparedness efforts.

A doomsday cartoon, warning of the impending start of the 2007 hurricane season, was thrown in for comic relief.

The National Hurricane Center has predicted 13 to 17 named storms for the upcoming hurricane season. Of those storms seven to 10 are expected to become hurricanes, while three to five are expected to become major hurricanes.

“It only takes one,” Summers said.

Due to storm surge, Category 3 storms and above are of special concern for Collier County, said Summers, adding that “fighting complacency” of what people expect a hurricane to do is important.

“The entire scenario with storm surge just dramatically complicates the response,” said Summers, who used 2005’s Hurricane Katrina and its effect on New Orleans as an example.

Collier’s preparations for this year’s hurricane season — which begins Friday and ends Nov. 30 — includes updating its Web site; establishing a backup EOC in case of storm surge flooding the county administration building; manning the county’s 311 Emergency line; employing a pro-active approach in hiring contractors to deal with debris after a storm; and partnering up with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and the county School District to manage and monitor evacuation shelters.

Also touted Tuesday were finalized plans for the county’s new EOC. Designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, the project is expected to be completed in 2009.

The new EOC will stand 90 to 100 feet with a 185-foot communication tower. In addition, the building will have a raised foundation to elevate the structure well above sea level.

It also would house a Collier sheriff’s substation, administrative offices for emergency medical services and a 911 dispatch center and backup offices for the information technology department.

“It will be quite an asset to us,” said Jim vonRinteln, emergency management coordinator.

Overall local officials urged residents to be ready — and not to expect the government to be the ones supplying their necessities immediately after a storm.

“Survival and recovery really starts at home. It starts with the individual,” Mack said. “It is up to the individual to be ready for the next event. Make your plans now.”

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For more information on Collier County’s Bureau of Emergency Services, visit www.collierem.org.