The Virginia Department of Emergency Management embraces this week a campaign to promote hurricane readiness.

Of course, it takes nothing like an oncoming hurricane to get your attention, but by then there isn’t much time left to become storm-ready.

In fact, the person who is truly storm-ready has taken the long view, the medium view, and can then save his or her efforts for the short-time-left view.

The long view, and the expensive one, means living in a place not too vulnerable to storms. It means having a home that is elevated from floodwaters, and out of range of tall trees that, in falling, can cut the house in half.

The medium view is having the big systems in place for long hours when the power will be out. We’re talking generators, non-perishable supplies, or a friend’s house far inland to which you can escape.

The short view, of course, and the one everyone has to follow, means buying all the bread and water at the store, all the batteries at the hardwar...