Today is the first day of the 2009 hurricane season but a new poll has found that very few people on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are ready for a bad storm.

Mason-Dixon’s survey found, for instance, that two-thirds of the respondents didn’t have a hurricane survival kit at the ready. The shocking results?

- 83% said they have not taken any steps in the past year to make their homes stronger, even after last year’s active season.
- 66% have no hurricane survival kit.
- 62% don’t feel vulnerable to a hurricane or related tornado or flooding.
- 55% do not have a family disaster plan.

The National Hurricane Center has tips for preparing for storms. Download the poll results in .pdf format, hurricanenewsconferencerelease-2.