Emergency supplies selling fast as another storm threatens Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Oahu residents aren’t taking any chances with emergency preparedness ahead of the latest round of severe weather.

City Mill has been working to keep shelves stocked with supplies.

“We’ve been selling a lot of sand and sandbags. We have a product called Quick Dam, and we have sold out at a couple stores. We’re trying to move them around so that everybody has something,” City Mill Merchant Iris Wilhelm-Norseth said.

Tape, batteries and flashlights have also been moving quickly among customers, along with pumps and rain boots.

City Mill and other officials are stressing emergency preparedness as recent storms have shown flooding can happen anywhere at any time.

“The little flash flood in Manoa kind of flipped people out too. That came out of nowhere. So people are very concerned,” she added.

Hawaiian Electric said it is also ready, following emergency preparedness procedures to ensure communities aren’t left without power for prolonged periods.

“It doesn’t take a named storm to really cause significant damage to the public infrastructure, whether it’s roads or other types of infrastructure, or the electrical, grid. We know that these heavy rains and very strong winds can have significant impacts,” HECO spokesperson Darren Pai said.

If the Public Safety Power Shutoff program is implemented, the utility said it would be a coordinated decision with emergency responders in the interest of keeping communities safe.

The Board of Water Supply is also asking customers to store water in case service is interrupted for an extended time.

And for storm supplies that don’t get put to use this time around, officials say not to toss them too quickly.

“This is also a great opportunity for people if they don’t use it to hold on to it because we are going into hurricane season starting in May again,” Wilhelm-Norseth added.

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