LIHUE — As Hurricane Iselle maintains a precarious approach toward Hawaii, those who remember Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki are reminding residents to not panic but to be prepared. A run on water and propane was expected, but store owners expressed
LIHUE — As Hurricane Iselle maintains a precarious approach toward Hawaii, those who remember Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki are reminding residents to not panic but to be prepared.
A run on water and propane was expected, but store owners expressed a little amazement at the volume of customers and how fast products are moving.
“We have had bigger crowds than normal Sunday and Monday,” said Don Gatlin of Island Ace Hardware in Princeville. “They are buying batteries and water, bungee cords, propane and masking tape for the windows.”
Since the last hurricane, Island Ace Hardware owner Jerry Caplan has stored wood panels cut to fit the store’s windows and doors. The screws are pre-drilled and ready to place in minutes.
Gatlin is the social media and advertising manager for the store and has updated the hurricane preparedness list on their Facebook page and main website. He said there is no reason to panic but it is good to understand what could happen and to be prepared for the worst.
If the power goes out, it could be days, weeks or months before electricity is restored. People should also keep some cash on hand, because if the power is out, ATMs won’t be working and stores won’t be taking checks or credit cards.
Kmart Assistant Manager Jordan Locquiao said there have been big crowds over the past couple of days. The most popular items being bought are water, toilet paper and other basic essentials, such as rice, propane tanks and small propane grills, canned goods, first aid kits, flashlights, batteries and bottled water.
“We are all out of the five-gallon water jugs,” he said. “People like them to go fill up.”
“The main thing is to stock up on water, canned goods, toilet paper and essentials,” Locquiao added.
One bit of advice that Locquiao offers is that people with family around the island, who may all ride the storm out in one place, try to each bring something and not double up on everything.
“It’s a team effort,” Locquiao said. “Everyone has something to contribute.”
Chris Roberts, a garden department manager at The Home Depot, said they are also out of five gallon jugs and all of the generators are gone.
“We are noticing that people are definitely preparing for this,” Roberts said. “Cases of water are flying out the door.”
Roberts said the crowds and the sense of urgency causes stress. He encourages people to be patient.
“Being in a rush is not going to help,” Roberts said. “It is the same here, as with any other store, where a little aloha goes long way.”
Aloha Petroleum Sales Manager Steven Toy said the company plans for these contingencies and has a 15-day supply statewide. Electronic monitoring at their owned store locations and order reports from independent stations help them keep track of volume and where the spikes in fuel consumption are occurring.
“It is gradually going up right now and we noticed that certain markets have an increase in daily fuel volumes, but nothing substantial yet,” Toy said. “We expect that, by the end of this week, the volumes will start spiking a little bit.”
In the event of a hurricane making landfall, Toy said Aloha Petroleum would not spike its fuel price rates. They hold prices for a natural disaster but that is also dependent on the competition.
“We just ask that people follow the law as far as approved containers,” Toy said. “We try to accommodate everyone but if a container is against the law then we can’t do it.”
