Some Florida Grocery Stores Are Rationing Water Ahead Of Hurricane Irma

From Delish

Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Caribbean yesterday, leaving many in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, the Dominican Republic, and Barbuda without power and homeless. As the Category 5 storm moves farther north, Floridians are preparing for the worst. The storm, tied for the second-strongest on record in the Atlantic Ocean, is expected to hit the Florida Keys Saturday morning.

Grocery stores and gas stations throughout Florida are already struggling to keep up with demand for supplies, with water bottles at some Publix and Walmart locations depleted this week. Now, a two-case per person or four-case per family limit has been established at several Publix locations, the Tampa Bay Times reported. At at least one store in Fort Lauderdale, extra security is in place.

A spokesman for Publix, Dwaine Stevens, told the Times stores are receiving water deliveries "throughout the day and night" to keep up with demand. Walmart and Amazon have already reported delays in shipping orders to Florida, though 800 truckloads of bottled water were delivered to Florida Walmart locations starting Tuesday night, a Walmart spokesperson told the newspaper.

Gas and sandbags are also in short supply, with 10,000 sandbags distributed by the Gainesville Public Works Department Wednesday, the Gainesville Sun reports. Another supply is expected to be given out today.

Further north in Tallahassee, a Costco sold two truckloads of bottled water in less than an hour, managers told WCTV. There, cases were originally limited to five per person, then reduced to three.

Florida Governor Rick Scott urges residents to take warnings seriously. Several areas have already been told to evacuate, and the entire state is under a state of emergency.

Local news outlets have updated lists of where to find supplies and shelter; here are resources for Broward County and the Tampa Bay Area. Check in with the National Hurricane Center for the latest updates on Hurricane Irma, Jose, and and Katia.

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