Marcus Stuart, a father of seven, stood in line at Chelsea's Choice for over an hour yesterday, desperate to get drinking water for his family as he prepared for Hurricane Irene.
Stuart arrived shortly after 1 p.m. and met more than 70 people already waiting on the outside of the gate, braving the heat.
"I have to get water because I have my kids," Stuart said.
"I need water.  Right now there's no water at home.  And right now down in Carmichael Road where I'm living there's hardly any water at the pumps.  The rain comes harder than that.  It'll take me the better part of 20 minutes to fill up one bottle.  I tried this morning.  That's why I'm trying to get the water now."
When The Nassau Guardian visited a government pump yesterday afternoon, the water pressure was extremely low. One woman who filled up six one gallon bottles and was attempting to fill the seventh estimated that it took her about 30 minutes.
Stuart said he also planned to go to a grocery store to stock up on canned goods. "I want to get as much canned food goods as I can," he said.
"I already have my hurricane shutters.  I hope I have enough [flash lights] and batteries and basic things that we need." Stuart was one of many people stocking up on hurricane supplies yesterday.
Charlton Burrows, the produce manager at Solomon's Supercenter, told The Nassau Guardian that food items were flying off the shelves.
Store clerks were forced to restock items including water, tuna, corned beef, bread, noodles and fruits throughout the day.
Burrows said the store could run out of tuna and water by today if sales continue as they did yesterday.
Grocery stores, hardware stores, water depots and gas stations across New Providence were all crowded, with people hoping to get the bare essentials before the arrival of Hurricane Irene.
According to the Department of Meteorology, the storm will arrive in New Providence sometime tonight or early tomorrow.
Myrtle Rolle, whose cart was filled with groceries as she browsed through Solomon's Supercenter, said she was also shopping for her family. Among the items in her cart were canned goods, juices, crackers and water. She said her husband was at home getting the house ready.
By yesterday afternoon, many businesses already had hurricane shutters on windows and doors. Many businesses also plan to close shop early today to allow their employees to prepare for the storm.
Manager of JBR Hardware Adrian Burrows said the store was busy all day yesterday. He said while the circumstances surrounding the rush were not ideal, the store welcomed the business, as it had been sitting on some goods for a long time.
Burrows said the store was stocked with many hurricane supplies; however, he said it may run out of batteries by today.
Kenya Sherman, 40, of Pinewood, used her lunch break yesterday to shop.  She said it was the only time she had to prepare for the storm. Yesterday she bought five five-gallon bottles of water, and bags of canned good.  She said her home was already prepared.
Marcha Smith, 32, said her only concern was filling up her car with gasoline.
"I'm filling both my car and my husband's car," she said, while waiting in line at Esso Service Station on Bernard Road.
"If the storm comes and the gas shipments are delayed I'll have some gas in my car," Smith said.
"I already got my food and drinks.  I bought a generator.  My husband is putting the plywood on the windows, so this is the last thing on the list."
The storm is expected to remain over New Providence until Friday morning.

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