Should I go out and buy all of the bottled water that is left? I went to Randalls yesterday to buy some dinner and I noticed that all of the bottled water was gone from the shelves. Lots of other stuff was bought up too. I don't really understand this. There are lines at the gas stations. In a worst case scenario with this storm, could it really be that bad? I know that the storm shifted and now Austin won't get the Category 1 winds, but that we may get some rain from the remnants early next week, but I was never that worried about the weather that we would be getting. Surely not enough to go out and stock up for 4 weeks worth of essentials. RocketsPimp- I guess that I am your evil twin. It's nice to be in Austin, but I miss Houston sometimes. It's nice to have this site to still feel connected though. How long were you in Sharpstown?
well, it might just be people arriving from Houston buying a bunch of water and gas - or people trying to go buy water and gas before it gets all bought up.
Dude, HEB Far West was cleaned out of water and bread on Wednesday. I went in there just to buy my regular groceries, and I just laughed at those chumps panicking as if we're in the eye of Rita or something.
we got here Wed late evening and went to the Wal Mart in Round Rock and they were already sold out of batteries and water (of course, for some reason, the Coke coolers at the front of the store, near the registers, were full of Dasani bottles, so we grabbed about 10 of them) btw ...why is it that everyone raids Walgreens, Walmart and all the grocery stores, but never think about getting water and batteries at gas stations? ...they usually have plenty of each
People are just hoarding stuff. Some of my co-workers bought 12-15 gallons of water, 4 days in advance. I've seen quite a few SUVs and vans with 6 or 8 5-gallon gas containers strapped to the top of their vehicles. Me, I'm borrowing an empty Sparklett's water bottle container from work and will fill it today. I've got a Brita pitcher and a hydration pack, I'll just purify water when needed and fill up my CamelBak. I'm not going to participate in this madness in the local grocery stores. I've got rechargeable batteries and I'll use my UPS computer backup hardware if necessary, but I don't believe it will be bad at all here in College Station.
Its ridiculous in Austin... The gas stations near my house all ran out of regular gas and the HEB nearby ran out of water and is somehwat short on non-perishables.
In the other thread about Post-Katrina Syndrome, I think that in Austin and maybe Dallas, some people are in "we want to be a victim too syndrome". Much of what's happened in the last 3 months has hit so close to home and many people have felt a direct impact of some sort, that many people feel that there really is a danger even here in Austin. I think having such an influx of evacuees here in Austin will maybe have the greatest effect, though not necessarily bad, maybe just more inconvenient. Does anyone have any ideas for how many people are expected to be in the Austin area this weekend, besides those that already live here?
Here in Plano, some of the stores closest to 75 (basically I-45 extended) had major runs on things... mostly gas and flashlights, water too... But off the beaten path, and at the dollar stores there seems to be plenty... With the down grading of the storm that should level off Until it keeps raining for the 4th day...
Many people probably filled up on gas because the hoarding will drive prices up (yes that a vicious cycle).
the American Marketing machine .. . now known as THE NEWS I tell ya. . the news has hyped people into a frenzy More Money has been spent and made in the last week some of these ma and pa stores have made their month in this weekend Rocket River
All those other cities -- they all WISH they were Houston, that's what it is! Houston is hard core, Dallas is just a little b**** . . .
I went and bought some water a few days ago when the path looked like Austin could still get some decent winds and rain. Mainly because I knew it would sell out and I only drink bottled water. I think part of the problem is that the Austin tv news is making it seem worse than it is. They did a ton of stories on grocery stores selling out of water and other items. I think it made other people feel like they needed to go stock up as well. In general, Austin tv news is pretty bad.
i blame it on the media. i was in austin today and it wasn't too bad trying to find bread and water and stuff. to be honest alot of the necessities are being bought by the houstonians or other evacuating because they are going to need those basics for awhile. in san marcos it's been bad...a lot of panic but it's justified if you ask me because i went out wednesday to get water and bread and it was already gone! but san marcos floods REALLY easilty. it lies on the banks of a couple of rivers and it only takes about 4 inches of rain for the rivers to flood and cut the town in half. that's why i got SOME goods because i might have to go without for a couple of days if it does flood, which is still possible.
It's because people are idiots. Why would gas stations in Round Rock be jam packed at 8am on Wednesday? Ridiculous. I've been watching the Austin news and there's no way they're causing this.
Hmmmm...I don't see hundreds of thousands of people packing the eastbound lanes of 71 and 290... My question is, why are all you scaredy cats coming here and buying up all our gas and water?
A brita filter does NOT purify water. it may remove some "impurities" but to actually purify water you need either water purification tablets or normal household bleach. to purify water add 16 drops, or 1/2 teaspoon, to each gallon of water. let sit for 30 minutes, then use. if the water does not smell of bleach, redo procedure. sounds weird, i know, but that's what the gov recommends... http://www.solareagle.com/PREP/BLEACH.HTM http://www.rense.com/general2/watrpur.htm -- Treating water with bleach is very effective at killing germs and it doesn't taste funny to most of us because this is basically what most city water supplies do. You need to have a bottle of plain liquid chlorine bleach and a dropper. The bleach should be 5 to 6 percent sodium hypochlorite with no preservatives and no additional ingredients. Do not use scented bleaches, color safe bleaches, powdered bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners. You want the good old fashion stuff that smells like chlorine and burns holes in your clothes if you pour it right on them. Even this is hard to choose because it is now available in different concentrations. Ultra Clorox is a 6% solution instead of 5.25% but it is the same stuff. Keep a bottle of plain 5.25% or 6% chlorine bleach with no additives in the laundry room to use for water purification. Besides, this cleans sweat socks as well as any of the others. To treat water with chlorine bleach, put the water in a clean container and add 16 drops of bleach for every gallon of water. Stir in the bleach and let the water stand for 30 minutes. If the water does not have a little smell of bleach, repeat the dosage of 16 drops per gallon and let it sit for another 15 minutes. If it smells of bleach now it is OK to drink. If it doesn't smell of bleach after two treatments, the water is too dirty to use. Throw it away and treat a new batch of water.
