Last Minute Prep for Hurricane Sandy's Arrival [VIDEO]

Less than 24 hours before Hurricane Sandy begins drenching the region with 4 to 6 inches of rain, and pummeling the coast with a predicted storm surge of 8 to 10 feet, flooding low-lying areas, Greenwich residents were packing up.

They were packing up groceries, booze, gasoline and their boats Sunday afternoon. Store shelves were stripped bare of bottled water, canned soups, boxes of pasta, loaves of bread, eggs and milk. Visits to the Stop & Shop and the A & P in central Greenwich saw customers queueing up with their grocery carts laden with the food stuffs as well as other essentials—paper towels, toilet paper and bags of ice.

At Madison Wines & Liquor at the corner of Mill and North Water streets, owner Beatrice Neri-Fingold said business was brisk. With her customers expecting to be marooned for 2 or 3 days, "everyone's going big ... I'm sold out of the big magnums of Bacardi (rum) and Cuervo (tequila).

Neri-Fingold said she and her husband Michael plan to be open during the storm. "I have the manual credit card machine. We're prepared ... it's WWCC—water, wood, cash, candles," Neri-Fingold said. "Right now I plan to be sitting on the front steps watching the the (Byram) river rise." Her store is a stone's throw from the Mill Street Bridge that connects Byram and Port Chester.

Along the coastline, boaters who waited until the last minute to pull their vessels from Greenwich waters. Tracy Cole said she and her husband had decided "kind of wait and see what's going on" but realized Sunday they better pull out their 22-foot Sea Ray motor boat.

Their boat was one of a handful left in the Byram Shore Boat Club.

Matt Zeh, the club's assistant fleetmaster, said that with the anticipated 8- to 10-foot storm surge couple with the astronomical high tide, boats stored on stands will probably be knocked off their stands.

Overlooking the Byram harbor, the windows of some homes on Game Cock Road were boarded up.

Lines to gas up cars and portable tanks with diesel fuel for generators continued throughout the day at Putnam Shell. Co-owner Carmen Moretti was setting up a generator behind the station so he will be able to continue serving customers throughout the hurricane, as long as he can get gasoline deliveries.

Tempers flared among drivers in line who tried to reposition their vehicles because they apparently didn't remember where the gas tank was located. Drivers honked horns and a tow truck driver resorted to using his truck's PA system in an attempt to convince the driver to move. "Are waiting for the lottery? You have to move—I can't back up," the driver announced. The female driver finally moved when approached by station co-owner Judy Moretti.

"People are not acting normal," Judy Moretti said. "People are getting nervous and scared."