DEVENS (AP) -
Hundreds of emergency management and public safety officials from across Massachusetts joined together for a hurricane preparedness conference on Wednesday.
National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read was 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 was 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.