Hurricane Irma: Storm Emptying Atlanta Store Shelves

DECATUR, GA -- At the Walmart on North Decatur Road in Decatur, store shelves Friday were being hit hard by shoppers prepping for Hurricane Irma, which is expected to reach Georgia, likely as a weakened tropical depression if that, early next week. But that didn't matter to many people as a marked increase in traffic was seen on metro Atlanta highways and roads over the last couple days as storm-weary Floridians made their way into the region.

Although Irma is still just south of Florida, it's official: Georgia and much of Atlanta is already being impacted. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Read more: Southeast braces for big hit from Hurricane Irma

"Based on what area of the state you're in right now, we're either seeing a 600 percent increase in congestion down in the Valdosta area or a 300 percent increase in Macon," Georgia Department of Transportation Spokeswoman Natalie Dale told WGCL-TV.

Watch: Florida Braces As Irma Rips Across The Caribbean

Many Atlantans were expecting worsening conditions over the next few days. Many of them have been posting their accounts of the situation on social media.

"I was in Kroger late at night. Guy I know was still at the meat counter - he said they were staying to restock meat," a user posted on Reddit. "But he said he was so grateful he wasn't on the water or toilet paper aisles - they had already restocked 4 extra times and were starting on #5. This is when the storm is 700 miles away."

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"We don't want to panic, but if you want food, water, TP and Gasoline - you might want to get a few days worth," the user said.

Another user said this: "I went at 10:30pm in Marietta and the water and bread was slim pickings already I'd highly suggest hitting it up tomorrow morning if you need stuff to feel covered for a week or so of 'worst case' scenario."

But slim pickings on store shelves wasn't the case everywhere. One user in Cherokee County said that the grocery store shelves there looked normal. "I'm in Woodstock, and bread at my store was fully-stocked this morning. Had it not been, the "omg" probably would've kicked in, and I would have thought about buying power outage food and batteries and such, haha."

State officials said that a contraflow plan would be implemented on Interstate 16 beginning 8 a.m. Saturday to help with traffic.

Beginning Friday and for the foreseeable future, the State Road and Tollway Authority opened up the 12-mile Henry County stretch of the I-75 South Metro Express Lanes to all motorists regardless whether they have a PeachPass or Florida SunPass. All tolls along the route were suspended as well, reports the AJC.

SEE ALSO:

• Southeast Georgia Evacuations Ordered, Red Cross Shelter Locations
• Hurricane Irma: Georgia Ports To Close In Savannah, Brunswick
• Hurricane Irma Jogs West, Weakens But Still Threatens Georgia
• Douglas County Prepping For Hurricane Irma

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