PRATTSVILLE, N.Y. - The shelves were fully stocked at the Great American, and even on a Friday night shoppers were out, picking up the basics ahead of Hurricane Sandy - among them was Peggy Olson.
"I already started stocking up. I got bottled water that I usually have and my house is set up with a generator. I just got a propane fuel delivery, so I'm all set," said Peggy Olson, a Stamford homeowner.
The importance of being prepared is a lesson Olson and the entire town of Prattsville learned in the aftermath of Irene, a devastating storm that destroyed countless businesses and homes – with rebuilding still underway a year later.
Olson says her childhood home was washed away.
"We used to always say, you never know if the weathermen are right so, but now with a couple of big storms that have hit, I think we do definitely take it more seriously," Olson said.
On Main Street, Ken Cox, the owner of the Prattsville Tavern echoed those sentiments.
"We were caught off guard; I mean we didn't have any food. We didn't have any water, so yeah, we're trying to get those things together," Cox said.
Greene County has already begun organizing its response. Over the last couple of days County Administrator Shaun Groden said the various agencies have been coming together.
"We have to be absolutely, completely prepared, not for a modest storm. But we go, there is no modest storm, there is no category for us. We go full hilt," Groden said.
Back at the Great American, Olson told NEWS10 you can never go wrong with having those basic necessities around.
"Those are things you can always still use in the house anyway," Olson said.
Greene County will go into 24-hour mode starting Monday, meaning the office of emergency services will be staffed around the clock.
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