Chris Pope From Homeland Securityand Emergency Management offers advice MANCHESTER, N.H. — The New Hampshire Department of Security is urging people to start stocking up on food and supplies for Hurricane Irene.Officials said there is no need to panic; residents just a need to pay attention.Officials said there is still plenty of time for residents to take a look around their properties and make sure things are ready, just in case. Get Latest Storm Updates On Facebook Hurricane Trackers Timeline: Past NH Hurricanes Checklist: Be Prepared For A Hurricane Explainer: Hurricane Categories Emergency gear such as generators, flashlights and backpack survival kits are already on display at the Home Depot stores in Manchester.”The most important thing is for people to maintain situational awareness. These hurricanes change; this hurricane could go off and out to sea. It could intensify and become more serious,” Homeland Security Director Chris Pope said.Workers at the Hampton River Marina were busy pulling boats out of the water Thursday in preparation for the possible hurricane. Boater Andy Melnicki said he’s used to getting his boat ready for a major storm.”Just about last year at this time, I was up in Portland, and we had to pull it out,” he said.Melnicki owns a 30-foot sailboat, and even though the storm is still days away and the track of the hurricane is far from certain, he said it’s better to be safe than sorry.”I’m not going to risk it,” he said. “I’ve got too much work involved in the boat. It’s just not worth it.”At a nearby campground, many campers said they have been paying close attention to the forecast. Roger Guertin and his wife, of Quebec, said they were cutting their vacation short.”They tell us they expect to have the storm here on Sunday, so we’ll go back Friday or Saturday,” he said. “We don’t want to go over the White Mountains in the storm.”The state Department of Transportation worked to clear out storm drains, while Hampton town officials also prepared.”We’re meeting on a daily basis — police, fire and public works are constantly meeting,” said Police Chief Jamie Sullivan. “We’ve gone over our plans. We’re making sure that all our equipment is prepared in the event that we need it.”The Red Cross of Greater Manchester said it is also preparing for Hurricane Irene.”Well, right now, we’re in our preparedness phase — making sure all the supplies we have stocked throughout the state. We’re making sure we have our call down of our volunteer teams and we know who’s going to be available at the last minute,” said Lisa Michaud, of the Red Cross of Greater Manchester.Michaud said those volunteers will be ready to head south or deal with situations locally.”This is a full-press response for the entire Eastern Seaboard,” Michaud said.In terms of preparing property, experts, such as Peter Hoiriis of Paul Davis Restoration, said it’s never too early for homeowners to start thinking ahead.”If it’s a higher wind storm right up around tropical or Category 1, they might want to consider boarding up their windows — plywood and screws is fine,” Hoiriis said.Hoiriis said if the hurricane hits New Hampshire with strong sustained winds, that’s when the roof shingles start to fly.”The standard shingles that are used in the New England area, when they’re new, are only good to about 75 miles an hour,” Hoiriis said.He said as a roof ages, it becomes less strong, so even a 50-mph wind can take a lot of roof off.The Manchester Home Depot said it is getting a lot of questions about generators. It said that just for Hurricane Irene alone, it has an extra shipment of sump pumps on the way.Weather On u local: