STATESBORO, Ga. () — Hurricane season is already underway, and officials said if they have to, they’re prepared to set up a temporary hurricane city on the University of Georgia Southern’s campus.

The Chatham County area has seen and survived its fair share of storms, but officials said a direct hit from a Category 3, 4 or 5 wouldn’t be pretty.

“We physically do not have a facility that’s able to withstand that,” said Randall Mathews, Chatham EMA deputy director.

Mathews said the greatest threat to their operation is flooding coming from the coast.

“The last thing you want to have is a storm coming here, flooding out all of the equipment and then the storm passes by and you don’t have any equipment or personnel able to respond and help with that immediate response effort.”

If the storm is bad enough to evacuate, they’ve got a backup plan: moving emergency personnel out to one of Georgia Southern’s three campuses.

“They have to be able to continue those functions in order to help them recover quickly and get people back into Chatham County or whatever coast that’s been evacuated,” said Erick Riner, director of GSU’s emergency management.

He said they’ve agreed to provide spaces for first responders to work and recharge after their shift ends.

“This is just a small part of what we can do to help those communities that are impacted by hurricanes,” said Riner.

Riner said their large buildings and parking lots make them a good place for a temporary headquarters. He said they’ve extended the offer to several agencies across our area.

Chatham County has plans to build a new emergency center that will be able to withstand higher level storms. There’s no timeline yet for its completion, but officials said they’ll begin construction soon.