Tropical Storm Ian prep continues throughout Southwest Florida on Saturday

Here is what we are finding out from our team and from social media posts as Tropical Storm Ian gathers strength amid progressing to Hurricane Ian on Sunday.

Bonita Springs supplies

Southwest Florida residents continue to make last-minute purchases ahead of a potential hurricane threat.

Some were packing U-Haul trucks Saturday morning.

Shoppers at The Home Depot in the 11900 block of Bonita Beach Road loaded their cars with generators and other materials to the extent where their trunks wouldn’t fully close.

Maria Antonio, of Bonita Springs, waited as her husband and son stopped in to grab water. She said they stopped at a nearby Walmart and a few other places, adding they had all run out of water.

Similarly, Max Orbeck, of Bonita Springs, said he found what he needed.

“I heard water was the big issue, but I got everything I needed, including that,” Orbeck said.

When will Ian become a hurricane? Tropical Storm Ian threatens Florida's west coast; forecast to become hurricane

Coming ashore: Florida's hurricane hotspots: Data says these 3 places are most vulnerable

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Preparing for next season, too

Teresita Nazario, of Bonita Springs, said she filled up her cart in preparation not only for this hurricane, but future ones, too.

“I’m all set for the next year,” Nazario said. “When it’s the hurricane season, we try to keep water from the beginning.”

Nazario said keeping up with the news was most helpful for her this time around.

“Every morning I turn on my TV and look at the news, so I always know exactly what happens,” Nazario said.

Search draws family from Miami

Nearly 10 miles south, some patrons lined up to fill up their gas tank at the Costco Wholesale store in Naples while other families left with carts full of water, nonperishables, toiletries and other supplies.

That was the case for Rafael Valdez, who drove from Miami just to find what he needed.

The family of eight walked to their cars with three carts full of supplies.

“I just drove here because I couldn’t find everything I needed in Miami,” Valdez said. “It’s shocking how everything is running out.”

Naples gas stations

Along Pine Ridge Road at Whipperwill, Naples gas stations were running low on fuel with RaceTrak only offering premium gas about 1 p.m. Saturday. Across the street, another gas station also had lower supplies, but people continued to pump.

Heading farther from the interstate, supplies seemed a bit better. On U.S. 41 at Pine Ridge, 7-Eleven/Mobile gas station had no lines as people pumped their gas.

Besnik Busati, of Naples, filled up several containers with gas.

It's like a contagious disease, he said,of joining the throngs running to the gas station.

"Too much like a psychological thing," he said, adding he thought we'd avoid the worst of storm.

LeePrepares

Now is the time to sign up for Lee County's free notification and alert systems. LeePrepares is a phone app for finding your evacuation zone, getting preparedness and recovery info, shelter announcements, and weather reports.

You can download the LeePrepares app through Apple or Android stores.

AlertLee is an emergency alert system that uses your location to send specific warnings about floods, surge, or other emergencies. Sign up at AlertLee.com.

You can find all storm information, from preparation to recovery, online at LeeGov.com/Hurricane.

Collier planning

Get planning information from collierEM.org or ready.gov.

Sign up today for #CollierCounty emergency alerts through Alert Collier.

Create an account at alertcollier.com, and stay up-to-date with the latest information on watches and warning.

Cape Coral preparedness

The Cape Coral Fire Department says to ignore the sandbags and take other preparations on its Facebook page.

"Please note that the City of Cape Coral does not supply sandbags," it said. "Instead, we recommend the below ways to protect your home. If you would still like sandbags, they are commercially available at home improvement stores."

The tips include having flood insurance, remove valuables from the floor, store important papers in a waterproof container, and  tie down/bring in loose items.

Special Collier commissioners meeting

The Collier County Board of Commissioners called a special meeting at 11 a.m. Sunday in the Board of County Commissioners chambers, third floor, Collier County Government Center, 3299 Tamiami Trail E., Naples.

The agenda will include an update on the status of Tropical Storm Ian and its effects on Collier County and determining whether to declare a state of emergency.

The meeting will be broadcast live and close captioned on Collier Television.

What social media is saying

CAPE CORAL RESIDENTS GROUP

Just paid $18 or a case of water at the 7-11 at corner of Cape Pkwy and Palm Tree. —Irene Samol

PLEASE PREPARE NOW...Unless Hurricane Ian makes landfall to the South, Cape Coral will be on the "Dirty Side" of the storm so there will be a potential for a lot of flooding. And, if it reaches the predicted Cat3 status, it will be ugly. Charley came in just like this storm and I swore I would never stay again for a storm of that magnitude. — Karen Servis

I LOVE FORT MYERS BEACH

Do. Not. Go. To. Costco. — Ruby Metcalf

I find it hilarious that people run out and buy teeny tiny bottles of water when you can buy and fill a couple 5 gallon collapsible water containers.  — Debi Clark Szekely

There was not ONE bottle of water to be found at super Walmart on San Carlos late yesterday afternoon….people were cra-cra! — Candi David

Naples Daily News and News-Press journalists Andrew West, Tomas Rodriguez and Stacey Henson contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: As Ian moves closer to Southwest Florida, hurricane prep continues