NARRAGANSETT -- On a summer-perfect day, a National Guard truck carrying a container filled with shelter supplies and a tractor-trailer loaded with food and water backed onto the Block Island Ferry.

Vacationers waiting to board stood with beach chairs and duffel bags in their hands, a stark contrast to the truckloads of federal disaster supplies headed for storage yesterday.

Journal photo / John Freidah

Specialist Luigi Miscuraca, left, and Lt. Russ Donahue, both of the Rhode Island National Guard, direct a truck carrying emergency supplies onto the Block Island Ferry.

This is the first time that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is storing supplies on Block Island in anticipation of the hurricane season.

And it's the first time that FEMA has prepositioned supplies anywhere in New England, said FEMA Region 1 Director Arthur Cleaves.

Yesterday's send-off to Block Island coincides with a mass mailing by the governor's office of evacuation maps and emergency information to residents in coastal communities.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina last year spurred federal and state agencies to improve preparations.

New FEMA Director R. David Paulison ordered the agency to move out more supplies in case a hurricane strikes. Now, there are 450 truckloads of meals-ready-to-eat being moved into places throughout the East Coast, up from just 70 trucks prepositioned last year, Cleaves said. About 1,500 truckloads of bottled water are also in place, compared with 600 trucks last year.

These supplies are intended to help residents in the first few days after a hurricane or other disaster. The federal and state emergency management agencies estimate it will take at least 72 hours for federal relief and supplies to arrive after a disaster.

Rhode Island and Massachusetts are the only New England states where FEMA is stocking food, water, and shelter supplies. Cleaves commended Governor Carcieri and state Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Robert J. Warren. "Rhode Island is the only one to date to take advantage of the partnership with FEMA," he said.

Block Island residents could be left stranded after a hurricane. Even though the island leaders plan to evacuate tourists days before one hits, those evacuation plans haven't worked in the past.

The shelter container, which is being stored at the Block Island School, holds a generator, wheelchairs, plus enough blankets and cots for 250 people. The trailer, which has 7,000 meals-ready-to-eat and 3,300 bottles of water, is being stored at the airport, Warren said.

In Massachusetts, more than 100 FEMA supply trucks are parked at Fort Devens and at Camp Edwards on the Cape, said R. Scott Erickson, who handles logistics in FEMA Region 1. The federal agency is looking into ferrying supplies out to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, he said.

There isn't much time to spare. While hurricane season runs June 1 through Nov. 30, weather conditions and water temperatures make New England more vulnerable to hurricanes in August and September.

Federal forecasters have recently downgraded their predictions for hurricanes this year -- now expecting 12 to 15 named storms and 7 to 9 hurricanes -- but they still warn that the East Coast is especially vulnerable.

"It only takes one," said Erickson.

Meanwhile, the governor's office and the state EMA are releasing hurricane preparedness pamphlets this week.

The state EMA recently spent $11,000 for 20,000 hurricane safety pamphlets, which public information officer Armand Randolph said will be distributed at chambers of commerce, through the state travel and tourism, and at "Nights Out" events. The 16-page pamphlet, a reprint of a 1987 booklet, has information on hurricane watches and warnings, and what to do before and after a hurricane strikes.

The governor's office is mailing out 300,000 pamphlets containing evacuation maps, shelter information, and safety tips and emergency contacts to residents living in coastal communities.

The pamphlets, which cost $46,917 to print and another $41,000 to mail, will be sent out this week and next week, said Steve Kass, the governor's communications director.

The maps show the areas that would be flooded by a hurricane, as well as the evacuation routes and current shelters approved by the Red Cross.

However, the map for Narragansett includes a shelter at the University of Rhode Island, which the Red Cross said yesterday has not been finalized.

Red Cross spokeswoman Angie Moncada said that URI has agreed to allow the use of the Keaney Gym for a hurricane shelter, but has not signed off on the paperwork. That approval is expected to go through soon.

The pamphlets from the governor's office address one problem in getting people to evacuate -- making sure their pets are also safe.

Many people who refuse to evacuate say it's because they don't want to leave behind their pets. Red Cross shelters do not allow pets, except for service animals such as guide dogs.

The pamphlets include a "pet checklist" and a list of pet shelters. There are now four pet shelters in the works, according to Warren: Peckham Farm at URI, Chariho Career and Technical School in Richmond, the Potter League for Animals in Middletown, and the Thayer Arena in Warwick.

Rhode Island has new evacuation routes, new hurricane shelters, and now, some supplies to get through the beginning of the aftermath.

But as tourists headed for the ferry yesterday, state and federal officials wondered whether people are thinking about their own preparedness.

"When you go years without a major hurricane disaster, it's hard to have folks who've lived through it and who have the experience," Erickson said.

amilkovi@projo.com / (401) 277-7213

READY OR NOT: Browse The Journal's series on the state of Rhode Island's hurricane preparedness, at:

http://projo.com/extra/2006/hurricane/