Scramble for bottled water as Cyclone Fina closes in
Territorians are cashing in on bottled water, however the country’s two biggest supermarkets have reassured concerned locals there is more stock available - and one local NT business is saving the day with supplies.
Cyclone Fina has realigned consumer priorities, with bottled spring water now the hottest commodity on the market while booze still remains relatively easy to come by.
As Cyclone Fina looms, Territorians are using windows of opportunity to stock up on essentials, including food, medicine, and toilet paper.
Among the all-important list of considerations is hydration, as power and water might shut off.
SecureNT has recommended Territorians to pack 10 litres bottled water per person - about three days’ worth of supply - as part of their emergency kit.
As such, bottled water has become a highly-valued shopping item, evidenced by long, empty shelves across various Woolworths and Coles outlets in Darwin.
On Wednesday morning, shoppers around the Darwin CBD could be seen approaching staff members asking when the next truckload of bottle spring water would be dragged in.
One woman, who only moved to Darwin this year, told this masthead she believed she was stocked up enough but admitted to being a bit nervous.
“I don’t really know what to expect,” she said.
“I’ve never experienced (a cyclone) before.”
The shortage of water bottles has prompted leaders at Coles to arrange a special delivery, with 100 pallets of water on their way into stores on Wednesday afternoon.
“As an essential part of communities across the Northern Territory, our team are working hard to ensure that our stores are well stocked so we can continue to serve our customers as Cyclone Fina approaches,” a Coles spokesperson said.
“We have extra deliveries on the way, with a focus on boosting our supply of essential items including water, toilet paper and canned goods. We ask customers to only buy what they need so that everyone in the community can access essential items.”
Their competitor, Woolworths, is also monitoring the situation and has confirmed all of its stores in potentially affected areas remain open.
“We’re also monitoring current demand and supply,” a spokesperson told this masthead.
“We have a seasonal natural disaster local depot that holds additional stocks of priority products such as bottled water, longlife milk, toilet paper, nappies, baby food and infant formula.”
The spokesperson said ‘Woolies’ would draw from the depot “as needed”.
“For now, we do ask our customers to be mindful of others in the community and buy only what they need.”
With TC Fina expected to be hovering around Darwin by early Sunday morning, water-thirsty locals hoping to secure last minute supplies have a lifeline - East Arm-based Territory Springwater Pty Ltd.
The decades-old business saved the day seven years ago when Cyclone Marcus struck and is again selling packaged water to locals who know where to look.
Owner Lisa Dewsbury said there had been a rush on the business over the past couple of days, mirroring a similar phenomena when Cyclone Marcus struck in 2018.
With water sourced locally from Acacia Hills, Territory Springwater Pty Ltd still has 12-litre one-way water bottles for sale to the public, as well as their regular distributors.
“Today’s gone mental,” she said. “We’ve had at least 30 customers walk through today who we haven’t seen before.”
The business is located at 13 Lilwall Street East Arm and is open Friday between 8.30am and 4.30pm.
Meanwhile, bottleos across the city are experiencing a spike in sales but still have plenty of stock.
One shopkeeper told this masthead his store was fortunate to have loaded up ahead of Black Friday, which kicks off next week.
“Yeah we’ve had more customers, but we were already expecting more anyway,” he said.
“The timing (of Cyclone Fina) worked out well.”
Asked what the most popular drinks have been since Cyclone Fina’s announcment, he was quick to respond.
“XXXX Gold, Great Northern Super Crisp and Jack Daniel’s,” he said.
“Jim Beam has also been a favourite.”
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Originally published as Scramble for bottled water as Cyclone Fina closes in
