Governor Ron DeSantis has declared September Florida Preparedness Month, a practical reminder that the state’s most dangerous stretch of hurricane season is here and that residents—not distant agencies—must take the first steps to protect themselves.

September is the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. Over the last 60 years, the basin has produced at least one named storm every September. Recent history underscores the point: Hurricanes Ian, Helene and Milton all struck Florida during or immediately after the month. DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management are using the designation to urge residents to act now rather than wait for a storm to form.

“Floridians should take this opportunity to ensure they are prepared for the remainder of hurricane season,” said FDEM Executive Director Jared W. Perdue. The message is straightforward: know your evacuation zone, make a family plan, and assemble a seven-day emergency kit before the next system appears on the maps.

The state has made that easier. Disaster-preparedness supplies—batteries, generators, tarps, fire extinguishers and many other essentials—are permanently exempt from Florida sales tax. Residents can stock up year-round without an extra levy. That policy treats preparedness as a personal duty rather than a seasonal government program.

FDEM’s five steps are equally direct. First, know your home and your zone. Check the “Know Your Zone” map; many coastal and low-lying residents live in designated evacuation areas. Second, make a plan that includes a meeting place and a communication method if cell networks fail. Third, build a kit with a week of food, water, medications and supplies for every member of the household, including children, older adults, people with disabilities and pets. Fourth, keep vehicles at least half full of fuel or charge so last-minute lines do not become a problem. Fifth, if ordered to leave, travel tens of miles inland rather than hundreds; most people do not need to flee the entire state.

These recommendations reject two common mistakes. One is assuming government will handle everything. The other is the opposite panic that sends entire families racing hundreds of miles on jammed highways. Officials repeatedly note that a short move out of an evacuation zone is often sufficient. Local alerts through AlertFlorida and county emergency-management sites give residents the information they need without turning every storm into a statewide crisis.

Florida has spent years hardening infrastructure and expanding its emergency-management capacity. The new State Emergency Operations Center, workforce-training programs such as CORE, and year-round tax relief on supplies are concrete investments in readiness. They stand in contrast to approaches that treat every hurricane as proof of a larger political argument rather than a recurring weather event that requires individual and local action.

Residents who live in special-needs households can register in advance so local officials know who may require extra help. Businesses are encouraged to have continuity plans. The common thread is that preparation starts at home, long before a cone appears on television.

DeSantis’s proclamation does not invent a new bureaucracy or launch a new spending program. It simply tells Floridians the peak of the season has arrived and that the tools to protect themselves are already available. In a state that has absorbed multiple major storms in recent years, that message is both timely and realistic: the first line of defense is the household that has already checked its zone, filled its kit, and decided where it will go if the order comes.

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