(June 1, 2007)--FEMA Director David Paulison says his agency is ready for this hurricane season.

He says the agency has pre-positioned supplies and equipment in key areas and plans to move quickly even before storms hit.

Paulison also says transportation contracts are in place in the event the government needs to evacuate people.

But in an interview with The Associated Press, Paulison says individual preparedness is also important.

He says government agencies acknowledge there are some people they'll have to take care of.

Paulison says FEMA's quick response to a tornado that wiped out a Kansas town is proof the agency is taking a new approach.

He says federal teams were on the ground just a few hours after the tornado hit, and supplies were being brought in before they were requested.

FEMA may be ready, but coastal residents aren’t, according to a poll released Thursday.

The poll finds that 53 percent of those surveyed in 18 Atlantic and Gulf Coast states say they don't feel that they are vulnerable to a hurricane, or to related tornadoes and flooding.

Eighty-eight percent said they had not taken any steps to fortify their homes, and 45 percent still believed the old wives' tale that masking tape helps keeps windows from shattering during hurricanes.

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