Kauai: Better safe than sorry
Garden Isle residents stock up despite distance from storm
LIHUE » Despite forecasts that show Hurricane Flossie will not come within 200 miles of the Garden Isle, residents and county officials are preparing just in case.
Outside the Home Depot store in Lihue yesterday, more than a dozen pickups were stocked with plywood, and a few others were waiting for loads.
Most residents, however, said they had been prepared for hurricane season for months and were just running out to pick up a few last-minute supplies.
"It's pretty much (a run) on the standard stuff," said Candie Dagel, acting supervisor for the Home Depot. "After a couple of years, you get used to it."
Hurricane threats are taken seriously on Kauai, which was slammed by the last hurricane to hit the state. Hurricane Iniki struck the Garden Isle on Sept. 11, 1992, killing six people and causing $2.5 billion in damage.
By 12:30 p.m. yesterday the lone Home Depot on the island had run out of generators, with no new shipments expected until after the storm, Dagel added. They were also out of half-inch plywood last night.
At the Safeway store in Kapaa, the run on water, toilet paper and paper towels was so great they stopped shelving the products and left the crates in the aisle yesterday, said customer service representative Olinda Higashi. The store has been completely out of baby diapers since Sunday.
The grocery store is expecting another shipment today.
David Gissing stood in a large line to top off his propane tanks after work yesterday, his last chore since he and his wife have been stocking up on food and pet supplies since the beginning of hurricane season. He has also readied the crates for his family's dog and two cats.
County officials, meanwhile, have readied their emergency equipment and their computers. The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau is updating tourists on current conditions at their hot line and the Hawaii Web site at www.gohawaii.com/flossie.