Florida's 2018 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday will be in place for a full week this year, from June 1 through June 7.
With the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season on June 1, local and state officials are urging residents to prepare now by stocking up on emergency supplies.
Florida's 2018 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday will be in place for a full week this year, from June 1 through June 7. During the tax holiday, items related to disaster preparedness are exempt from sales tax.
“We ask residents to have a number of emergency supplies ready, and this is the perfect time to take a look at what you have and replenish or replace these items,” Flagler County Emergency Management Chief Jonathan Lord said last week in a county media release. “Remember to test things like flashlights and replace outdated batteries.”
As with food, water, and medications, emergency management officials recommend having five days' worth of supplies on hand during hurricane season.
The list of qualifying items includes: reusable ice packs; flashlights, lanterns and candles; fuel and kerosene containers; batteries (excluding automobile and boat); coolers and ice chests; tarps; ground anchor systems; tie-downs; bungee cords; two-way and weather band radios that are powered by battery, solar or hand-crank; and, portable generators selling for less than $750 to be used for providing light, communications or to preserve food in the event of a power outage.
“Another thing we would ask residents is to take a moment to do now is to sign up for special alert notifications at flaglercounty.org/alertflagler,” Lord said. “If you know someone with special needs — someone who requires electricity, refrigeration for medication, or oxygen — encourage them to register for evacuation assistance at flaglercounty.org/special_needs.”
Helga van Eckert, the county's director of economic opportunity, also urges residents to shop locally.
“Certainly we hope to be spared this year, but it is a good time to remind our residents to consider making their purchases within Flagler County,” she said. “The healthier our businesses are before a storm, the quicker they will rebound, which will make our individual recovery less painful.”