FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Hamilton de Toledo had finally made it to the checkout counter at Home Depot when a frantic employee approached the cashier with bad news: Theres no more plywood.

Just outside the stores front door, the line that had formed for the sheets of plywood that would, hopefully, protect windows, doors and homes from the winds of the fast-approaching Hurricane Irma had finally drained Home Depots supply. Wednesday alone, this location had gone through three truckloads of plywood with each truck carrying 20 bundles of 60 sheets apiece, one store employee said as the city and its residents scrambled to prepare for the arrival of Irma, the storm that has already devastated Caribbean islands and is expected to turn north toward Florida.

De Toledos house has impact-resistant windows, so the wood wasnt for his home. Instead, he needed it for his niece, who lives a few blocks away. Irma, one of the largest and strongest storms to ever develop over the Atlantic Ocean, will be her first hurricane.

Now, with the cashier in the process of swiping his card, he worried hed leave the store empty-handed. Instead, he was the last customer of the afternoon to get his hands on what had become one of South Floridas most precious commodities. Outside, after a nervous few minutes of waiting in line, he snagged the final five sheets of plywood Home Depot had, plus two broken pieces the store gave him for the price of one.

Ive never been this concerned, de Toledo said as he wheeled the sheets to his pickup truck. Im trying not to be, but its hard.