The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Aquapure yesterday said it had seen a 50 per cent increase above normal business volumes due to consumers stocking up for Tropical Storm Erika, an experience repeated at other Bahamian retailers in recent days.

Geoffrey Knowles, the bottled water manufacturer’s operations manager, said business “really picked up” on Wednesday.

“It really picked up on Wednesday  morning,” he said. “Cars were lined up waiting to get water. It’s still heavy, but not as heavy as it was before. A lot of people are stocking up.

“We have seen about a 50 per cent increase in business, a little bit more maybe, which is taxing us because we are trying to keep up with the bottling side.”

Mr Knowles told Tribune Business. “As long as it’s safe we will be open. We have a contingency plan to bring people in and get them home and that kind of thing, whatever we need to do.”

Raymond Collins, Tops  Lumber and plumbing supplies’ general manager, told Tribune Business: “We have had a few calls. We have had one of the big hotels on Paradise Island buy 60 sheets of plywood, and a couple of people have bought a few sheets here or there.

“Other than that there has been regular business. The Government bought a bunch of flash lights, rain boots and rain jackets on Wednesday, but other than that I haven’t seen too much of a big push as yet.”

  Tropical Storm Erika, the fifth-named storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, is expected to dump four to eight inches of rain as it passes over the Bahamas this weekend. The storm is expected to pass directly over or near New Providence on Sunday.