Residents Ready For Sandy

With Hurricane Sandy on the way, downcounty residents are crowding grocery and hardware stores as they brace for the hurricane, heeding warnings to prepare for extended power outages.

"I've been here since 6:30 -- it's been like this all day," said Bill Hart, owner of the Bethesda as shoppers flocked to shelves to pick up flashlights, batteries and candles.

Pepco is predicting "[Tens] or even hundreds of thousands of customers could lose power during this potentially catastrophic event, and multi-day outages are a possibility," according to a statement.

Montgomery County could begin feeling the effects of Sandy, dubbed "Frankenstorm," by Sunday.

With the multi-day outages following June's derecho storm fresh in mind, many are preparing for the worst.

At Strosniders, generators sold out in the morning, Hart said. By the time a new shipment arrived, employees were barely able to get them off the truck before they sold out again, Hart said.

"We're killing the warehouses. Everyone else is too," Hart said, referring to other hardware stores in the area.

The store was expecting another shipment of storm supplies to arrive this weekend.

In nearby Friendship Heights, residents waited in long lines at the Whole Foods, stocking up on non-perishable food. And just across Western Avenue at the CVS, D batteries -- used for heavy-duty flashlights -- were already sold out.

For more information on how to prepare for the hurricane, visit Montgomery County's website.

How are you preparing for Hurricane Sandy? Are you seeing stores selling out of food, flashlights and batteries in your neighborhood? Have you done your pre-hurricane shopping yet? Tell us in the comments.