Tunapuna residents prepare for potential cyclone

Tunapuna residents were out stocking up on pharmacy items and basic grocery and hardware items on Tuesday morning. There was an air of focus as people went about preparing for the passage of Tropical Cyclone 2 from Tuesday evening.

Although the lines were not long in Massy Stores, St Augustine, there was a quiet urgency.

One man came out to help his disabled friend.

“He’s stocking up because he can’t move around, and I have transport, so I called him to find out if he needed a few things. He would have needed them regardless of the storm.

“I haven’t bought anything, because I’m still waiting on pay later. I’ll check later and if things happen, I will see what I can do. I would still have to make month-end groceries and buy the basic staples, rice, flour, sugar.”

One lady who was stocking up on basics like Crix, tinned juice, tinned peas, tuna, cheese, eggs, and toilet paper said she wasn’t feeling too bad about the situation.

At the attached pharmacy, a pharmacist said people were buying preparatory items such as Panadol, alcohol and bandages.

At Seven Hills Pharmacy on the Eastern Main Road, the pharmacist said people were stocking up on things like children’s and adult Panadol, and their regular medications.

At Bhagwansingh’s Hardware in Tunapuna, the owner said people had been coming in all morning to buy batteries, flashlights, flashing, nails, and tape. She said she thought more people would come in later in the day, especially those who had not yet been paid.

At Tunapuna Agro on Tunapuna Road, the salesperson said the main items bought were flashlights and batteries.

Several people complained there had been no official, timely communication from the government, saying information was more accessible from international agencies than local ones.