Hurricane Ian: Essentials, gas still available in Jacksonville as storm nears Florida
At the Aldi's in the Town Center, there's a small yellow sign: all canned goods are limited to four per day per customer "in preparation of truck delays due to upcoming storm."
There are still hurricane essentials available at the small grocery store chain, though it's obvious from partially empty shelves and a busy store that there's been a morning run on canned goods, bread and prepared meals.
The Times-Union visited several grocery and home goods stores Tuesday morning and found that hurricane essentials are still available at area stores and gas stations are not crowded with long lines as Hurricane Ian spirals on its projected path toward the Gulf Coast.
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But there are signs that there's a coming surge on hurricane essentials like water, bread and generators as Hurricane Ian approaches and local schools and institutions announce closures.
The Home Depot on Regency Square had already sold 22 of 40 generators by 11 a.m. Tuesday. Shelves for water, fruit, canned soups had been picked nearly clean, but the water is limited to three per person.
The Publix at Town Center had only gallon jugs of water available and shelves of fresh-cut fruit had been wiped out. The Publix in Fleming Island had run out of propane by Tuesday morning, the Publix at Baymeadows and I-295 had only gallon jugs of water available and the Winn-Dixie in Neptune Beach had 24-packs of water available but are limited to three per buyer.
Hurricane Ian has weakened slightly as it moved over Cuba at 4:30 a.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. But the forecast calls for Ian to become a Category 4 storm with winds reaching 130 mph within the next 12 hours.
Reporter Garry Smits contributed to this report.
Katherine Lewin is the enterprise reporter at the Times-Union covering criminal and social justice issues in Northeast Florida. Email her at klewin@jacksonville.com or follow on Twitter @KatherineMLewin. Contact her for her Signal number to share anonymous tips and documents. Support local journalism!
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville gas, water still stocked as Hurricane Ian approaches
