COLUMBIA - State officials preparing for the upcoming hurricane season told Gov. Mark Sanford on Wednesday that many "lessons learned" from Hurricane Katrina have helped them improve emergency plans.

"I think our state is as prepared as it can be," Ron Osborne, director of the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, told Sanford at a meeting of agency leaders working on hurricane preparations. "Katrina has made sure we dig a little deeper. ... Katrina's the catalyst that wakes us up again."

The storm that lashed the Gulf Coast last year killed more than 1,300 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Osborne said South Carolina is planning on a "worst case scenario" basis, given that weather officials are forecasting an active storm season in the Atlantic.

The Red Cross has identified enough sites to shelter up to 158,000 evacuees, said Jenny Latour, director of the group's Midlands chapter.

"We have increased capacity," said Latour, noting that an additional 19,000 slots have been found in shelters around the state.

"We feel we're in good shape," said Kim Aydlette, director of the Department of Social Services.

When the Hurricane Hugo struck South Carolina in 1989, about 90,000 people were given shelter, officials said.

The South Carolina Army and Air National Guard are ready to serve should the call come, said Adjutant General Stan Spears.

"We're so much better off this year than last," Spears said, adding that the number deployed has dropped from more than 3,000 to around 1,200 this year.

Guard helicopters sent to support the war effort have returned to the state and heavy equipment that had been deployed has been returned and repaired, Spears said.

"I feel very confident the National Guard is in good shape right now," Spears told the governor.