PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Hurricane season has arrived and the time to prepare is now, not when a storm begins to bear down on you.

 Local, county and state agencies joined forces Saturday in Pinellas Park for a hurricane preparedness expo. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Pinellas Park Hurricane Expo drew a large crowd Saturday

  •  Spectrum Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay also attended

  •  Residents received life saving inforation, free hurricane kit

  • Storm Season 2023 

  • Download the Spectrum News app

Hurricane season 2023 is only about two weeks old, but it's never too late to get prepared. Linda and Don Masters came to the expo to learn and found out something they hadn't realized.

“We wanted to get the newest updated information on the hurricane,” Linda said. “What to do. How to prep. We’re really realizing that I’m not ready.”

The expo was geared towards Pinellas Park residents living in condominiums, and neighborhoods governed by homeowners associations. Organizers said those residents have additional issues to deal with if a hurricane threatens.

“It’s so important that residents that live in community associations, live in a homeowners’ association prepare not only for themselves,” said Pinellas Count Emergency Management Community Specialist Jessica McCracken. “But also consider the preparations that need to take place with the community overall.”

County and city partners along with 211, the department of health and salvation army, all took part in the expo where residents came out to get life-saving information, Free hurricane kit and more.

Spectrum Bay News 9’s Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay was also in attendance. He spoke on stage before an audience, offering his expert advice and forecasts for the 2023 hurricane season. In addition to all of this information, Linda has the added concern of caring for her husband who has Alzheimers Disease.

She said the expo helped her plan for things she hadn't thought of.

“I wanna make sure that he’s safe," she said. “And I have something posted on the wain case anything happens to me, like his medical records and stuff like that.”

Organize it say there's one thing you simply can't get too much up in the event of a hurricane, it’s knowledge.

“Knowing your evacuation zone and knowing your flood zone may be new to somebody that’s moving from out of state,” McCracken said. “So it’s important that we get these resources out to the community and word of mouth really helps with our event today and we had a really great turnout.”