The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A well-known building supply firm was yesterday forced to call the police to address a severe traffic back-up on Prince Charles Drive,  after experiencing its typical pre-hurricane sales rush.

Adam Darville, Pinder Enterprises’ general manager, told Tribune Business: “It’s been very busy. We had to call the police to come and sort out the traffic situation. We have got it pretty much under control now.

“The rush started since Monday; all day Monday and all day again Tuesday. People are coming mainly for plywood and lumber, as well as all the stuff that goes with that; nails and screws, very little of anything else.”

Mr Darville said that depending on the weather, Pinder Enterprises will open today to accommodate customers. 

“Our other location, Pinder Tile, won’t be open on Wednesday, but the Enterprise locality we will be openas long as weather permits. It’s an unpredictable storm,” he added.  

Mr Darville said Pinder Enterprises has seen this type of customer traffic before.

“It isn’t the first time,” he added. “Plywood sales are the biggest part of our business. We have pretty much the best prices in town. Every hurricane is very busy for us. This is not anything new for us.”

Other lumber distributors and building supply stores told Tribune Business earlier this week that they had seen a pick-up in business due to a spike in plywood sales ahead of Hurricane Matthew.

Raymond Collins, manager at Tops Lumber Yard, told Tribune Business yesterday: “We have been pretty busy with plywood sales. It has been a steady flow of traffic. It started a bit on Saturday but today has been pretty busy.”    

Matthew, is a powerful category four hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour, with higher gusts. The storm is expected to move north across the heart of the Bahamas from Wednesday into Thursday.

Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the centre, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles.

Matthew is expected to produce total rain accumulations of eight to 12 inches over the southeastern Bahamas, with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches. Residents have been urged to take all the necessary precautions to prepare for the passage of the storm.