MYRTLE BEACH -- Hurricane season begins June 1, and National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield said it's a matter of time before the coastline between Texas and Maine feels the full force of a major storm.

"We have not had a major hurricane, the likes of Andrew and Hugo, hit the United States in a number of years," he said. "It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when."

Communication, coordination and cooperation among state and local emergency officials during and after a disaster were also emphasized Wednesday at an emergency management workshop in Myrtle Beach.

Of concern to people who live along the Palmetto State's coastline, a group that has seen a sharp increase in numbers during the past 50 years, is where one could hit and how much damage could result. Much depends on how strong a storm is to begin with, Mayfield said.

"If you're lucky enough to live on the beautiful coast of South Carolina, you also know you're going to sometimes have hurricanes," he said. "You'll have to activate your hurricane plan, and you need to know what you're going to do before it gets here."

The gravitation of so many people, estimated to be about 50 million, to coastal communities throughout the U.S. equates to the probability of more destruction and loss of life from the landfall of a major hurricane.

"We have more homes and more hotels like this that are out on the beach," Mayfield said. "It would be unreasonable to think that the damages would not in-crease. The message is so consistent in telling every individual, business and community to have their hurricane plans in place."

The 2003 hurricane season spawned 16 named tropical storms, of which seven became hurricanes. Three developed into major storms. Only two hurricanes hit the U.S. mainland, most notably Hurricane Isabel, which devastated the Outer Banks and funneled a storm surge up the Chesapeake Bay and along Virginia's Tidewater region.

Mayfield estimated that between one-third and a half-million people have died in hurricanes in this hemisphere since the New World was discovered.

He emphasized the enormous responsibility that emergency preparedness officials have in preventing fatalities from such storms because the next big one could be just beyond the horizon.

The three-day conference, sponsored by the S.C. Emergency Management Division, focused on the implications of hurricanes, terrorism and associated emergency management issues.

This year's theme, "Improving the Odds," was all about exploring and examining ways to do just that -- be better prepared and able to respond in the event of a major emergency, whether it be by the hand of nature or man.