SANFORD, Fla. — Florida's second and final Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday started Saturday, which gives residents another chance to be prepared during hurricane season and stock up on storm essentials.

After Hurricane Debby recently hit the state, Seminole County emergency officials say there is no better time to prepare as we head into the peak of storm season.

“The height of hurricane season is generally around August, September, October time period,” said Seminole County emergency manager Alan Harris. “So this is a perfect time for individuals to go out and get some of those last-minute items. This tax holiday will hopefully encourage some folks to maybe go out and buy a couple of additional items to make their disaster kit really sound.”

The list of goods that qualify for the tax savings includes portable generators, pet food, radios, batteries, fire extinguishers and more.

Harris adds that although hurricane season has been rather slow so far, that does not mean resident shouldn’t be prepared.

“We have, of course, seen a hurricane here in the state of Florida, but not quite as many hurricanes at this point that we were expecting,” said Harris. “But that doesn’t mean that’s going to stay the same.”

Additionally, Harris says as they assess future storms, sandbag stations will be available.

He also wants residents to know that flood in central Florida has been an ongoing issue, and that the county is working on solutions to solve those problems.

“We’re doing a lot of stormwater improvements,” said Harris. “We just completed a project along the McIvor River, cleaning it out to make the water flow more rapidly and better. But there’s still going to potentially be localized flooding. And when we talk about localized flooding in the central Florida area, that’s sometimes weeks and months. That isn’t just a couple of days like on the coast.”

The sales tax holiday runs through Friday, Sept. 6.