RICEBORO — The advice from Liberty County officials to Riceboro residents about the hurricane season was succinct.

“When in doubt,” said Liberty County Fire Services Chief Brian Darby, “get out.”

Hurricane season started June 1 and runs through November 30, and Liberty County Emergency Management Agency officials are holding hurricane season briefings throughout the month to prepare residents for another likely active summer and fall.

Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences is predicting an above-average season for tropical storm activity in the Atlantic. Its researchers expect 17 named storms for the Atlantic basin this season, with nine hurricanes and four of those becoming major hurricanes. Hurricanes that are category 3 or stronger are classified as major hurricanes.

The National Hurricane Center also is predicting an above-average hurricane season. It is forecasting 13-19 named storms, with six to 10 of those becoming hurricanes and three to five developing into major hurricanes.

“They’re point of this — expect another busy year for hurricanes,” said Trip Duke, deputy director of the Liberty County EMA.

Duke said residents need to make sure they are following the right information. For instance, some residents were noticing on social media there was an evacuation order for Liberty County last year — but that order was for Liberty County in Florida, not Georgia’s Liberty County.

To help get more accurate and timely information out to residents, the Liberty County EMA now has an app that can be downloaded to smartphones. The app also allows residents to take pictures of damage and send them to the EMA after a storm.

Liberty County felt the effects of Tropical Storm Debby last August and Hurricane Helene last September. Helene, which came ashore at the area of Florida known as the Big Bend, was a category 2 when it hit southeast Georgia. Across the state, it led to as many as 37 fatalities and up to $5.5 billion in damage to timber and agriculture.

Last year, a number of tropical storms formed in the Caribbean Sea or in the Gulf of America, giving people in southeast Georgia less time to prepare, Duke noted. While hurricane season runs from June to the end of November, tropical storms have been tracked as early as May and as late as January.

The majority of the storms that approach the East Coast take place in early September, Duke said.

“The water is really, really hot at that time,” he pointed out.

Liberty County’s position in the “elbow” also is no guarantee a tropical storm or hurricane won’t affect the area, Duke said. Hurricane Sandy, for example, was over 1,000 miles across.

The biggest killer from hurricanes, Duke said, is storm surge. With a category 1 storm, the surge brings three feet of water onto Highway 17. It’s nine feet with a category 2 storm. And with a category 5 storm, Duke said, the Dairy Queen in Hinesville is under nine feet of water.

“When we talk about evacuation,” Duke said, “this is why it is important.”

EMA and other county officials also urged residents to sign up for the hurricane health registry at the health department if they have medical, access or functional needs. Should an evacuation order be given, officials will come to pick up those who have no other means of making it to Charles Shuman Center. However, first responders won’t be on the roads if winds exceed 40 mph, and there were a few hours during Hurricane Helene when emergency vehicles were sidelined because of the wind.

Officials also encouraged residents to have a disaster kit prepared and to include such things as prescription medications, flashlights, water, copies of documents such as driver’s licenses or birth certificates and to put some cash away too.

Residents also are warned not to approach or touch downed power lines. County officials said just because sparks aren’t coming from the downed lines doesn’t mean there isn’t active power flowing through them.

“Always assume a power line is hot,” Duke said.

For those residents who have a backup power generator, they should have a licensed and qualified electrician hook those up. Generators not property connected can put power back into the lines leading away from a house and after a storm, carbon monoxide poisoning can happen if the generator is not properly situated.

“It is a silent killer,” Duke said.

Officials also recommended not only taking pictures of any damage and keeping any storm-related receipts for possible FEMA reimbursement but also to take pictures of important documents such as birth certificates or driver’s licenses or Social Security cards on a smartphone. They can be deleted once they are not needed.

When it comes to downed trees, first responders will remove those that fall on a house, but not on a driveway, officials said. The EMA has two more sessions planned, one June 18 at 6 p.m. at the John McIver Auditorium at the East End Complex in Midway and a final one June 30 at 6 p.m. at the Dorchester Civic Center on Islands Highway.

“Take this to heart, please,” Commissioner Marion Stevens Sr. said of the information and warnings. “Please pay attention to these weather briefings.”