To not understand panic shoppers!

[changelikethewind]

I live in a part of the world that is potentially about to get hammered by a cyclone. We'll know more today if it's coming straight for us. Most people are taking precautions, dismantling trampolines, moving outdoor furniture clearing gutters etc. We've been advised to prepare for up to 4 days without power.
So many people have taken this advice and rushed to the nearest supermarket to buy weeks worth of toilet paper, bottled water and pasta! It seems like its back to COVID times. I totally get making sure you have a few extra non fresh things in or extra formula etc but this seems nuts.
As a family we did our usual shopping on Sunday - so we will have enough to last us. Worst case scenario we can eat rice / pasta made on the gas hob if we don't have power and eat stuff from the fridge while it's still cold if we have no power.
Granted I'm not a local - but this surely isn't common sense!

People won't admit it on this particular thread but I have seen on other threads people admitting that they've had to throw out stuff they stockpiled during COVID. Even one person who had 'forgotten' about a freezer they bought and filled with food during that time..
So yes, some of it will be people buying early and/or a bit extra but there are idiots who will just buy loads of stuff they will potentially never use, making it difficult for anyone who wants to buy a normal or sensible amount.

The problem is it's catching. If someone sees one case of water left even if they have it at home already they'll take it. Same with loo roll and everything else.

Hope it doesn't hit too hard.

Also on the GC. Went to Coles today for baby formula and milk. It was heaving and half empty. Carrots were sold out randomly 😂

As the name suggests it’s ’panic buying’ so common sense goes out the window.
Plus, people are generally quite thick and extremely selfish.

As another poster said above I actually know of someone who forgot they’d bought an extra freezer during Covid, just madness.

Hope you’re all safe.

I'm sure some people are panic buying but as pp said, some are just buying early. We shop on a Monday, if Monday was a cyclone, we'd have to go Sat or Sunday as our cupboards would not last for 4 extra days.

One thing I realised with covid was how much food different people stored as routine. Some people didn't own a freezer at all and had one tiny cupboard and shopped daily, others had big chest freezers and a pantry and could survive a month without even thinking of shopping

There's a whole section on prepping for emergencies

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/preppers

We have similar every winter when there are predictions of heavy snow for our town. As soon as snow is predicted for a specific day the supermarkets are full of people with huge trollies full of long life milk, pasta, bread, toilet paper, tinned food etc.

We do sometimes have a few days where road conditions are bad (and sometimes major roads are closed for a day or 2) but everything is back to normal within a few days. It's obviously sensible to get in a few extra supplies (many locals keep a small stock of non-perishable items through the winter) and I can see that some people will be sticking up for elderly relatives etc as well. But I really can't see why a couple of days of snow means half the town needs t buy enough TP and pasta to last for a month. The real problems, of course, are that I suspect a lot of it ends up being thrown out and since there can be a few days where deliveries are disrupted there's nothing left for those who can't afford to buy in bulk just in case.

Don’t people in these places stock up long term?
I’d have one of those ‘bath bags’ to store loads of water for a start plus sealable buckets to put bulk dry food supplies in. Toilet paper would be the the absolute last of my concerns, you can wipe your arse on anything.

And there's also the problem that if a politician or some other millionaire tells the public not to panic buy, then the public does exactly that... because as everybody knows, politicians are a paragon of truth and integrity, and they never have a hidden agenda. It happened during the petrol panic buying. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeease don't panic buy..."

Not really. This is the first actual cyclone in 50 years so it's not a regular event for us. I have water during the storm season and food but I definitely do not have 90 litres of water on hand routinely. Would you have the space to store 90 litres of water for 3 months a year?

Most of the prep work we did today was more than I've ever needed to do for a severe thunderstorm. We're expecting sustained rain and wind for about 3 to 4 days.

👋🏻 to all fellow Queenslanders! Looks like he is heading straight for us 🫣
Stay safe everyone

Whereabouts are you?
Just heard that buses and trains have been cancelled for Thur and Fri.

I'm on the southside. Apparently the worst stormage is on the south side of the cyclone. Really not looking forward to this.

And really hoping it skips the Northern Rivers. Lismore's been through enough already.

" It's also an irregular verb : I shop, you stock up, she panic buys."

I had never seen it put this way, @HauntedBungalow - you are a genius!

@changelikethewind - I hope you are OK.

Yep, went to Woolies earlier- no bread, water, beans and limited pasta. Luckily I only needed a few things and got most of them and got the heck out of there. The poor cashier said it’s been mental. He also said they’re not closing at all although I think that may well change if it’s as bad as predicted. Stay safe everyone! 🙏🏻

I'm in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, should see what we are in for later on today.

@changelikethewind good luck! I hope you all stay safe!

How's everyone going so far?

We've had mild wind and rain but of course anticipating much worse by this time tomorrow. I'm in the southern suburbs of Brisbane

Yeah same here. Feeling so sorry for the Northern Rivers, they are getting munted.

Just want it over and done with.

After covid, I avoid the shops if there is even a sniff of panic buying, its not so much empty shelves that bother me but the sheer amount of people ramming trollies into each other and being generally obnoxious, rude and sometimes aggressive.

Even pre covid I have always had enough supplies of food and essentials to last at least 7 days, with the exception of milk (I am really funny about milk going off). To be fair, the food I have in could probably be stretched to cover a month if absolutely necessary but some meals would be very dull. I rotate and replace during my normal shop so its always in date and stuff we use anyway. I suppose that makes me a prepper essentially, but its just the way I manage the household.

If there was a really prolonged period of panic buying, I think I would try a local shop first even its a bit more expensive. Couldn't face the loo roll wars again!

I don't live somewhere with cyclones but would say that the aftermath of hurricane Katrina suggests they might be right to have more than a few days worth of food.

Katrina was so bad because the levees broke. I think Lismore has a levee but they are calling for people to evacuate if they can. The rest of us don't rely on levees.

Alfred is a cat 2 which might be a cat 1 or even a tropical low when it finally makes landfall. I think Katrina was a cat 4 or 5. We're still in for high winds and heavy rain and probable flooding but it won't be a Katrina situation.