PALM BAY, Fla. — On Thursday the Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce hosted a Disaster Recovery Expo at Eastern Florida State University.

  • Disaster Recovery Expo held at Eastern Florida State University
  • FEMA: Over 40 percent of small businesses never reopen after a disaster
  • Next tropical storm name on the list is "Chantal"

Hurricane season can be a worrisome time for small business owners.

FEMA statistics show that more than 40 percent of small businesses never reopen after a disaster and only 29 percent were still in operation after two years.

At the Disaster Recovery Expo, information was provided about recovering after disasters strike and ways to apply for grants to help residents get back on their feet.

Topics included preparing for hurricane-like storms, environmental incidents or cyber attacks that can disrupt businesses.

"Just the resources that are available. All the different organizations, websites, apps and links, they are all available to everybody, and they are all free," said Chris Huff of Morse Communications

Morse Communications specializes in helping businesses get cloud storage and back-up cell service in case of internet disruptions during storms.

Hurricane season runs through November 30.

With the first two named storms out the way, the next name on the list is Chantal.

No new tropical development is expected over the next five to seven days.

Preparation tips for before, during and after storms can be found on the Storm Season page.