PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Emergency management officials are urging all Florida residents, especially those who are new to the area, to be prepare for a potential hurricane.
“It’s nerve-racking, but I think coming from California, we have earthquakes and you can’t really predict those, and with this, you have a little bit more predictability so it’s nice to at least that kind of sense of preparedness ahead of time,” said Addie Padgett, who just moved to the bay area a few weeks ago.
A big concern this season is all of Florida’s new residents who have never experienced a hurricane.
“It’s a concern because they may not understand the risks of a hurricane. It’s really important that all of our residents, not just our new ones lookup their evacuation zone so whether you need to evacuate.” said Pinellas County Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins. “People need to understand how evacuations work, that they’ll be an evacuation order issued by their local office of emergency management and that we need people to heed those evacuations.”
Getting prepared now is the message from Pinellas County Emergency Management.
On Friday people were flocking to stores in Pinellas County to stock up on the essentials, like cases of water.
“There’s a lot of water. There’s no limit right now. But, there’s like, some people are coming out with like six or seven cases of water,” said Heather Sampson, who made sure to get water and other supplies before the rush.
“It’s better just to be prepared and get a little bit of extra food and water just in case you have to hunker down for a couple days,” said David McCann, who grabbed extra water for his family and neighbors.
Pinellas County officials are asking all residents to download their ‘Ready Pinellas’ Emergency planning app.
