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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, February 27, 2010

Stores seeing influx in customers looking for last-minute supplies

Advertiser Staff

Shopper across Oahu are rushing to stores for last-minute supplies in advance of tsunami waves that are expected to hit Oahu at 11:25 a.m.

The 76 station along Kamehameha Highway in Kaneohe was full of cars this morning and worker posted a sign saying the station would close at 6 a.m., when Civil Defense alarms will sound.
The parking lot of the Safeway store at Kaneohe Bay Shopping Center was jammed this morning around 4 a.m. and dozens of people were waiting in line to check out.
People were stocking up on water, soda, toilet paper and large bags of dog food.
Hayden Wilson, 33, of Kaneohe, waited in line to buy water, saimin, canned goods and bread for his wife and three children.
He works for a contractor that cleans Windward beaches and early this morning heard that an earthquake had hit Chile.
Then Wilson saw people lining up at gas stations and decided to pick up supplies for his family.
“Everybody’s taking this seriously,” Wilson said.
At the Walgreens on North School Street in Kalihi, Patrick DeCosta saw about 20 cars in the parking lot and people inside stocking up on water and other supplies.
“Normally there’s usually only two cars this early,” DeCosta said around 4:30 a.m.
Melane Cabugos, a sales representative at Kmart on Nimitz Highway, said customers "are coming in and buying water and food."
The crowds are manageable, Cabugos said, and that the store hasn't run out of anything.