OLL: Hurricane season is here, but residents not bustling to stock up on supplies

OLL: Hurricane season is here, but residents not bustling to stock up on supplies

By LESLIE WILLIAMS (Contact)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Have you made any preparations for hurricane season?

COLLIER COUNTY — More than half of residents in hurricane-prone areas don’t feel vulnerable to storms, nor do they have a plan in place.

Those are the findings of a Mason-Dixon poll commissioned by American Initiatives and announced Thursday at the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University in Miami just in time for today’s start of the hurricane season. Sunday, the day before the season commenced, was a quiet one in Collier County, with no runs on emergency supplies like bottled water or batteries in local grocery and hardware stores.

However, the warnings all over television and newspapers this time of year seem to be having an effect in Southwest Florida, said David Collins, an associate at the Home Depot on Davis Boulevard.

“I’ve been here in Naples 10 years,” said Collins. “I’ve noticed that people here tend to wait until the first storm to prepare. But, there’s been more early preparation this year than a couple of years ago.”

A steady flow of battery sales has increased over the last few weeks, Collins said, and sales of permanent and portable generators have picked up recently after a steady trickle all year long.

“We get people (buying generators) all year long because people come and go all of the time,” said Collins.

The retail push to hock hurricane-season essentials was obvious at the Target store at the corner of Pine Ridge and Airport-Pulling roads Sunday, where both batteries and bottled water were on sale in special displays on the end-caps of aisles and in front of cash registers. All 12-packs of one water brand were gone from the shelf, but plenty of gallon-size containers and 15- to 24-packs remained, many on sale through this Saturday.

At Sunshine ACE Hardware in downtown Naples, water and battery-operated lanterns went on prominent display on Thursday.

Assistant Manager Mike Wood said he had helped two people Sunday who were there to buy hurricane supplies, but said he expected the big push to happen before the first storm.

“Usually when you see the bigges