Don’t wait too long

Disaster movies always seem to include a scene where panicked people — once they learn of their impending doom — rush to buy the supplies they should have had all along.
It’s a chilling reminder of the importance of family-level disaster planning. After a disaster, help from the government, private aid agencies and concerned outsiders typically takes a few days to arrive. The bigger the disaster area and the more severe the event, the longer it will take for help to get there.
People need to be ready to take care of themselves and their families for at least the first few days after a disaster strikes.
That’s the rationale of Virginia’s first-ever “Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday.” The holiday from the state’s 5 percent sales tax will start this Sunday and continue through Saturday, May 31.
“As we’ve seen time and again, including recently with several tornadoes hitting the state, weather can be very unpredictable and end up causing a lot of damage and hardship,” Tax Commissioner Janie E. Bowen said in a news release. “Virginians should seriously consider equipping themselves for the upcoming hurricane season, and saving the 5 percent in the process is an added bonus.”
So in addition to Virginia’s back-to-school sales tax holiday and the energy-efficient appliances sales tax holiday, we now have the state giving a not-so-gentle reminder that this is a good time of the year to stock up — before it’s too late.
Will most people heed the call? Or will the rising price of groceries and gas — plus the it-can’t-happen-here mentality —  prevail?
For the record, it does happen here. While the Dan River Region is far enough from the coast that we don’t see hurricanes, we do see the weakened remains of hurricanes — and those are still capable of producing record-setting winds and rain.
So what’s tax exempt during this latest holiday? The biggest item will be generators priced under $1,000.
The rest of the tax-free items include things that cost $60 or less — everything from batteries, flashlights and duct tape to artificial ice, tarps, water containers, fire extinguisher, bottled water, first-aid kits and manual can openers.
Many of those things can be used at any time, but all of them would come in handy in an emergency.
Virginia’s hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday makes a lot of sense for people who want to be ready for the worst. Everyone else, though, will be left to learn the often-taught lessons of natural and manmade disasters.