Several North Island supermarkets have closed as Cyclone Gabrielle hammers the upper north this morning.
Countdown Paihia in the Bay of Islands and Countdown Tikipunga in Whangārei have closed today due to power outages in the region. Four Square Tairua in the Coromandel is also currently closed due to a power failure.
It comes as customers of Countdown and Foodstuffs supermarkets are being urged to consider others, with shelves wiped of some essential supplies amid preparations for Cyclone Gabrielle.
One East Auckland shopper called it the toilet paper apocalypse as locals shared photos and experiences of trying to buy groceries yesterday.
Other items in demand included water, bread and canned food.
"We know it's a worrying time for many, and while customers prepare for Cyclone Gabrielle, we do ask that Kiwis please be mindful of others and only buy what they need," a spokesperson for Countdown told 1News this morning.
"We've been preparing for the arrival of the cyclone and continue to send hundreds of extra cartons of food and essentials to our stores.
"We are well practised in getting the essentials to customers but we ask that everyone thinks about what they really need for the next few days — this will make sure that there is enough for others. We have plenty of stock, but our team and supply partners need time to get it through our supply chain and onto shelves."
The spokesperson said widespread power outages across Northland have "unfortunately affected two of our stores which have been unable to open this morning.
"We apologise to customers for any inconvenience and we will reopen as soon as it's safe to do so. We know there is likely to be further disruption due to the cyclone and the safety of our team and customers remains our absolute priority. If there are any further changes to store hours these will be updated on our website.
"There may also be impacts to our online deliveries and we'll be in touch with customers directly if their order is affected. We'd like to thank our customers in advance for their understanding as we work to keep everyone safe and minimise disruption during this weather event."
A spokesperson for Foodstuffs told 1News all supermarkets have "good supply".
"If there's an empty shelf at the store, it's often because our teams can't replenish them fast enough so we are kindly asking that customers only buy what they need so there is enough for everyone when they shop."
Chris Quin, CEO of Foodstuffs North Island, said in a statement this afternoon that bread, milk and bottled water are a few of the most important groceries to North Islanders right now.
“We’ve got good supplies of water, our in-store bakeries have been ramping up production to help keep up with bread demand - and some of our supply partners have also been changing their approaches to increase production.
“We’ve made some subtle changes to keep the groceries flowing from our distribution centres to our stores, like reducing the number of non-essential items being delivered to stores. This gives us more room on our trucks for the essentials.
“If you’re coming in and the weather is bad where you are, please take care. We have enough stock, but sometimes our in-store teams aren’t able to replenish shelves fast enough from the storerooms in store. We’re asking customers to please only buy what you need for a few days, that way there’s enough for everyone when they shop.”
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty said at a media conference this morning there have been some shortages reported but both supermarket chains have confirmed they have "pretty robust" supply chains.
He said if regions are severely hit by wild weather and people are unable to get to work due to needing to isolate, people should be mindful and only get what they need, adding that "three days" worth of supplies should be enough.
McAnulty urged shoppers to be patient, saying supermarkets are operating an essential service and staff will be "under strain".
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