Washington ? President Barack Obama urged residents of hurricane-prone communities on Friday to take responsibility for their own safety and start planning now.

Hurricane season officially begins Monday.

“A lot of these plans are not complicated,” the president said after a disaster-preparedness briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Individuals should be ready with a supply of nonperishable food, water, first aid kits and radios that will work in the rain, he said.

The president said state governments have the primary responsibility for preparing and responding to disasters. He said all the resources of the federal government are there to back them up.

“We are determined to be as prepared as possible when the next catastrophic hurricane hits the United States,” Obama said.