Gulf Coast residents stock up for Laura landfall

HOUSTON — Hardware stores in the coastal Texas and Louisiana communities bracing for Hurricane Laura’s arrival this week rose to the occasion as customers poured in seeking emergency supplies. “We’re actually doing … Saturday numbers right now” on items from weather stripping to charcoal and duct tape, Dwayne Myers, manager of an independent Houston Heights store, told the Houston Chronicle. In the city’s nearby Spring Branch district, some Lowe’s customers sat on generators to claim them, while others lined up as news of a second shipment spread by word of mouth. The Home Depot has moved proactively to meet increased demand in the region, with the dispatch of 170 truckloads of supplies such as batteries and plywood to stores in Texas and Louisiana. “When a storm is approaching, our focus is to get the products in the stores and to stay open as long as it’s safe,” said Melanie Payne, the company’s director of operations for the region.