Be prepared: Hurricane season starts Saturday

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Hurricane season is just a week away, and local emergency operation centers want you to be ready. 

We stopped in at the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center to get a few tips on basic preparedness for locals for hurricane season. 

Jay Rajyaguru, the program coordinator at the Hillsborough EOC, gave us this advice:

Make sure that your hurricane kit has a first aid kit with basic items such as bandages for any wound care.

Along with that kit, you should customize that with any medicines that you need or your family members or pets need for up to a week.

If you have to evacuate, bring your essentials to the shelter, including food, water, sleeping bag, sleeping pad or air mattress and important identity documents.

"It is a life boat, not a cruise ship," said Rayyaguru about the shelters. "It gets pretty tight."

He advises that people should bring with them some items to pass the time such as games, playing cards, and electronic devices to watch videos or entertain the kids.

"We like to preach, have a culture of preparedness, so all year round, think about being prepared," he said. 

For more information, watch our FOX 13 Hurricane Special "Surviving the Storm", airing Monday, May 27 at 5:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and again at 6:30 p.m. 

LINK: Track the tropics at www.myfoxhurricane.com