The 2005 hurricane season hit hard and ended late, with Hurricane Epsilon lasting eight days past the standard Nov. 30 closing date, and Tropical Storm Zeta extending into early 2006. Awareness of the coming hurricane season, which officially starts in little more than a week on June 1, should be very strong.

Yet despite the tragic - and continuing - consequences of Hurricane Katrina, a recent survey of U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coast residents found that three-fifths said they have no disaster plan, more than two-thirds said they don't have a hurricane survival kit and nearly half who live within 30 miles of the coast said they don't feel threatened by hurricanes. Such a lax attitude after the worst hurricane season in modern memory isn't just baffling. It's frightening.

National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield told The Associated Press: "For whatever reason, some people are reacting to the hurricane threat by sticking their heads in the sand."

That doesn't include state and local officials who have plans in place to cope with any hurricanes that come South Carolina's way. Gov. Mark Sanford met with representatives of assorted state agencies last week to review those preparations. Citing the title of a recently released federal report, "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Unprepared," the governor issued this challenge: "It's important these words aren't repeated for South Carolina."

And though Gov. Sanford expressed confidence in the state's plan, he rightly warned that government alone can't maximize public safety if South Carolina residents don't act in a responsible manner to protect themselves. That includes leaving the coast before it's too late.

The authorities have made widespread improvements in increasing exit-route capacity since the Hurricane Floyd evacuation debacle in September 1999, when a critical delay in reversing normally coast-bound lanes for inland-bound purposes contributed to virtual gridlock on I-26 and other major highways. Then again, the benefits of better planning will be at least partially negated by the continuing population growth along our coast.

Still, important lessons have been learned - including lessons from Katrina. State officials are continuing to expand the number of buses, public and private, available to evacuate those who don't have their own means of transportation. The Red Cross reports that shelter space has been expanded. And the S.C. National Guard has more troops available for hurricane duty this year, due to a reduction in the number serving overseas.

Those advances in collective hurricane preparation, however, offer no guarantees to individuals who fail to do their own part to keep themselves and their families safe. As Shawn Jones, a senior project manager with the Charleston County Emergency Preparedness Division, put it: "The biggest thing we try to tell people is prepare and don't wait for the government to take care of them. It's personal - a personal responsibility to be prepared."

So if you have a hurricane plan, review it. If you don't, develop one. And make timely evacuation of the coast your plan's primary goal.