Stores Run Low as People Stock Up for Hurricane Irene
Keeping up with demand seemed to be the hardest thing for supermarkets and hardware stores today, as people were buying all the supplies they needed to prepare for Hurricane Irene. (Gallery of photos at the bottom of the article)
“The things we were most surprised to run out of were tub stoppers,” said Donald Clark, an employee at Fraser’s Hardware in Mahopac. “People said that they saw on the news to fill the bathtub up with water, so they came in the get a stopper. When we ran out of stoppers people started buying up gaskets and jar openers to use in its place.”
Fraser’s Hardware also sold-out of flashlights, oil lamps, C and D batteries, bungee cords and rope as well as tarps.
“Customers were just coming in and buying everything they could,” said Stephen Cerbino, another Fraser’s employee.
Fraser’s was not the only store that was having a difficult time keeping items on the shelf on Friday Home Depot in Brewster ran out of generators and when they filled the floor with an emergency shipment they ran out a second time within an hour and a half.
Supermarkets were also put to the test. Items such as milk, bread, eggs and water were restocked as often as possible, but in many circumstances the shelves were left bare. Stop and Shop supermarket in Somers was able to restock its store-brand milk but had to leave the shelves which carried the name-brand Guida dairy products empty.
Other popular items being bought in the supermarkets were cold cereals and peanut butter and jelly. Hannaford supermarket in Carmel sold out of onions.
The supermarkets plan to be completely restocked by Monday but, according to one manager who did not want to be identified, it would depend on how massive the storm is and how much destruction it causes.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.