BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.- Palm Beach County Emergency Management and the US Coast Guard hosting a hurricane preparedness event today.
The Hurricane Expo is at the Boynton Beach Mall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Palm Beach County Emergency Management officials want you to be prepared if a storm blows through.
Emergency management officials, members of the U.S. Coast Guard and vendors will be on hand to answer questions.
Sonia Ramos and her husband know the power of a hurricane.
"It was a very horrendous experience," said Sonia, of Lake Worth.
They experienced hurricanes Francis and Jean in 2004.
"I was sitting there in the living room, I'm going like any minute this roof is going to go," recalled Sonia. "We were fortunate that nothing happened to us."
She and her husband are one of many who attended the Hurricane Expo.
Hurricane shutters or windows are the first line of defense.
"If you keep the windows in tact, the wind won't come in and pressurize the roof and the roof won't blow off," explained Scott Key, a home exterior expert with Home Depot.
Also, an emergency kit with food, water and supplies to last three days is key.
And if you have a boat, members of the US Coast Guard are advising on ways to safely secure it.
"If they get loose, depending on where they were, they can damage other boats," said Otto Spielbichler, a flotilla staff officer with the US Coast Guard. "They can damage the marine environment."
You can call Palm Beach County's Division of Emergency Management with questions about hurricane season at (561) 712-6400 or check out its website at www.pbc.gov/dem