Supplies Run Scarce As Hurricane Harvey Grows

Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, TX)

Aug. 25--In the hours ahead of the first strong winds, supplies became scarce as Harvey's strength grew -- leaving those seeking to top off their tanks and grab flashlights on a scavenger hunt for some of the most basic emergency supplies.

A Stripes store downtown early Friday night was boarded up, but hadn't closed down -- and customers casually drove up to the pumps for what might be the last re-up before Hurricane Harvey's arrival, joking: "Is there some kind of a storm coming?"

A few hours later, the store ran out of all fuel -- and it was unclear when or if there would be more available.

At another, gas still flowed.

As the Coastal Bend braces for Harvey -- forecast to be a Category 3 hurricane at landfall -- exactly what supplies remained after crowds rushed to stock up was unclear.

Several construction, sports and grocery stores could not immediately be reached late Thursday night.

Water

Contrary to rumor, officials will not turn off utilities before the storm, according to the city of Corpus Christi's Twitter account. A number of grocery stores reported their locations as having supplies, although sometimes limited.

At the H-E-B store on Leopard, managers reported very little water and no guarantee that shelves would be restocked in the morning. At the Port Avenue location, only gallon water and baby water were on hand. The location on Kostoryz Road was out of both water and ice, according to a manager, and it wasn't clear if a truck would be coming in the morning.

At Moore Plaza, meanwhile, there was a limit of six gallons per person, and an anticipation that a new truck was coming in the morning. The H-E-B Plus! on Saratoga was running low, and there was no expectation additional trucks would be arriving, managers said.

The location on Weber Road was also running low, according to officials, but there is a possibility trucks may arrive in the morning.

Most of the stores' managers reported being low on batteries, canned food, flashlights and duct tape.

Sand bags

The city of Corpus Christi had earlier provided residents with up to 20 sandbags by self-service. On its website late Thursday, officials stated that the "self-serve sandbag program" was completed and warned residents that bagging sand on the beaches is illegal.

Electricity

AEP Texas "will make every effort to get the lights back on as soon as possible" once crews begin to restore electricity begins after the storm's passage, said Tom Coad, AEP Texas vice president of AEP Texas vice president of distribution region operations.

Information on the status of power restoration can be found at www.aeptexas.com.

Grocery stores

H-E-B officials announced late Friday that several of its stores were closed. The stores are in Aransas Pass, 101 E. Goodnight; Ingleside, 2616 W. Highway 361; Port Lavaca, 101 Calhoun Plaza; Rockport, 1409 Business Highway 35 north; Edna, 301 N. Wells; and Sinton, 106 S. San Patricio.

It was expected those stores could suffer heavy damage, according to a news release issued by H-E-B spokeswoman Regina Garcia.

"As the storm passes, we will assess each store's condition before we reopen to the public," she wrote.

Those in Corpus Christi will remain open, she wrote in a news release, but it was anticipated there would be updates on store closures Friday morning. She also wrote residents could check store's statuses at heb.com/disaster.

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