Not finding water before Florence hits? Raleigh says use your tap

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Three nights before Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall, there was a frenzy at the Harris Teeter checkout lines in Raleigh's Cameron Village

"It was chaotic! Oh my goodness, long lines!" said Fatimah Spivey

Reilly Norman described it as "a mess in there; it's wiped out clean."

The water aisles were especially bare -- empty shelf after empty shelf.

"We came around 1 and all the waters were gone," said Blake Swain. "Now, it's just people fighting for food."

FULL COVERAGE OF HURRICANE FLORENCE

Lu Xu emerged with some other food items to ride out the storm. But she did not get the "liquid gold" she was looking for.

"There is no water at all. The whole shelf was empty," she said. "(Water was) the first thing I went to - the shelf looking for water. There's no water."

Clerks at the Cameron Village Harris Teeter told customers to expect a new supply of bottled water by Tuesday morning, sometime between 9 and 10.

But City of Raleigh public utilities told ABC11, fear not; Water should keep flowing from our faucets no matter what.

The city says even if the power goes out, Raleigh's water system is not dependent on the electric grid. The city feels confident in the system and its backups. And the city's water system track record is good; No history of widespread water outages during a hurricane.

Yes, the city's water is safe to drink right out of the faucet.

But for those who just don't feel comfortable doing that, water filters may be a good bet. They're available at most big-box discount stores.