Wake Emergency Crews Offer Crash Course In Hurricane Safety

"I grew up in New York," Jeff Thomas said. "We had snowstorms, but not hurricanes."

So for the first time in Wake County, emergency crews held an expo on Saturday to help all North Carolinians get prepared for the hurricane season.

"Apex is growing by four and a half people per day,"Apex Fire Chief Mark Haraway said. "In the last six years, we've seen an influx of four or five thousand people a year coming into the area."

And many of the people moving in have not experienced a hurricane, Haraway said. In response, town leaders held Hurricane Awareness Day on Saturday.

The expo featured vendors, meteorologists and emergency workers who answered questions about what people should do before, during and after a storm hits.

"For people who didn't grow up here, it's great the town is providing a way for us to prepare ourselves," Tracey McDonnell said.