Batteries, flashlights, and generators flying off shelves

EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) - It's not just food that people are stocking up on, in anticipation of power outages, flashlights and batteries are at a premium.

The lines were long at Rocky's hardware in East Longmeadow much of the day.

They went directly to the carefully layed out items designed to give them light if the darkness comes with the expected fierce winds.

“We’ve been selling batteries, flashlights, lamp oil; just about anything storm related has been flying out of here,” Manager at Rocky’s hardware Seth Dihlman said.

It was this way all day. Nobody wanted to be caught short in the event their power might be out for sometime.

Allen Lawnmower's customers were there to buy generators in advance of the storm.

Joe DiCesare of Somers, Ct. had been down this road before. It's not the first time he'll have used a generator during stormy weather.

“I actually had one; it died halfway through the outage. I definitely know what it is to have one. I definitely want to make sure I'm prepared this time,” Joe Dicesare of Somers said.

So whether it's that big ticket item or something much smaller just to get by, people are on the move. They want to be sure that by the time Sandy arrives in Western Massachusetts, they'll be prepared for the worst.