NORFOLK, Va. - With the threat of Hurricane Matthew, sales of generators across Hampton Roads have skyrocketed.
At Northern Tool and Equipment Company in Norfolk, Store Manager Kelly Thornton reports it has been a busy week.
"Sales have been through the roof. We have sold out of everything we had yesterday and the day before," Thorton told News 3's Todd Corillo Wednesday.
By midday Wednesday, half a truckload of a new shipment of generators had already been sold as well. Thornton says the company is ready and able to bring in additional shipments as the demand warrants.
Dominion Virginia Power has also been keeping a close eye on the track of the storm and any potential impacts on customers.
"Hopefully it will keep going off to the East and we won’t have much of an impact in Hampton Roads as we thought, but we’re here, we’re ready," spokeswoman Bonita Harris said.
Dominion is offering the following tips for customers preparing for the storm:
- Pay close attention to the weather forecast: Don’t be caught off guard.
- Put together an emergency kit containing flashlights, water, medicines, portable radios, extra batteries and non-perishable goods. For tips on how to assemble a kit, visit https://www.dom.com/stormpreparation.
- Bookmark Dominion’s real-time online outage map and use it to report and track outages. The site, dom.com/outages, is accessible on smart phones and tablets.
- Establish an online “Manage Your Account” (MYA) with Dominion at https://www.dom.com/ and update it with your telephone number, including your cell phone number, to ensure accurate reporting of a power outage.
- Sign up to receive text messages from Dominion. Text DOM to 898366 from any mobile device.
- Stay in touch through Dominion’s Twitter feed at twitter.com/DomVAPower, and Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dominionvirginiapower. Both are good sources for information and updates throughout any storm event.
- Communicate with family and friends about emergency plans in the event of extended outages.
- Keep a full tank of gas in your car, get prescriptions filled, and make sure cell phones and other electronic devices are fully charged.
