Store Shelves Go Bare As Irene Approaches

Last-minute shoppers emptied shelves at supermarkets, home improvement and big box stores as Hurricane Irene approached.  

Food including bread, water, eggs and milk were the first to go. Non-perishable goods like as tuna fish, fruits, cookies and soda were also high on the list.  

Other supplies like size D batteries were almost impossible to find, as were flashlights. Saturday afternoon, Home Depot in Fairless Hills received a final shipment of batteries, flashlights, sand bags, tarps and other emergency necessities, which customers quickly snatched up. Levittown Patch Editor Saliqa Khan and Upper Southampton Patch Editor Jennifer Mohan were two of those last-minutes shoppers. Within minutes, many of the items were gone.

A Fairless Hills Home Depot employee said backup generators were out of stock for a couple of days. According to one employee, within the first hour the store was open Thursday all generators sold out. The lowest price generator was nearly $300.

Movie boxes such as Red Box were picked dry on Saturday as people prepared to hunker down for the storm.

Most folks said they plan to ride out the weekend eating, watching movies and keeping track of the storm on TV, all the while hoping power does not go out.