Hurricane preparations are underway in the valley and statewide. Cameron, Willacy and hidalgo counties are in the middle of a 2-day drill.

Preparing for a hurricane takes a team effort. The drill is simulating conditions for a hurricane threatening the South Texas Coastline. The mock storm began today as a tropical depression and will develop into a powerful category 5 hurricane.

The mock drill began early this morning. Operators were on hand to answer any phone calls, and others tracked the "mock" hurricane. This year's drill paired Cameron County resources with emergency operations centers in Hidalgo and Willacy Counties, and emergency operation centers in Laredo, Austin and San Antonio. Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos says these drills are a must every year to fix any type of glitches.

“We had issues regarding distribution of sand bags for example. People getting to the right spots at right time with buses etc... We’re trying to just figure all that out and make sure if we do have a real threat that we're prepared.”

Also, something that has never been done in Cameron County, it will be providing services for the hearing impaired during a hurricane.

“This is brand new. We have a large population is South Texas of physically impaired hearing people. People who don't have the ability to listen or hear.”

And evacuating residents out of a hurricane's path will be another challenging responsibility. The county is working with school districts, U.S. customs and border patrol to make these evacuations as quick as possible.

“There’s got to be a unified coordinated effort and that's what we're trying to do at this point. We just ask people to stay informed, watch TV, listen to officials and not wait till the last minute. If they believe they need to leave then they need to plan and they leave quickly.”

San Benito will be the central station for all evacuees who don't have any transportation. It will be the place where people on foot can be identified, processed and bussed out. This is done to keep families together during the storm