Hurricane Laura Closes Stores in Louisiana and Texas

2020-08-31
5 min read

Laura is a category four hurricane that made landfall Thursday, August 27, 2020, in areas of Texas and Louisiana. It has moved towards Arkansas, weakening to a tropical storm. The hurricane has caused the closure of 52 Walmart stores across the two states.

Storm surges are still causing heavy rains and flooding as Laura wends its way inland. More than 800,000 customers have lost power in Louisiana and Texas, and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has stated that at least six people have died in his state. Due to concerns about the hurricane, some Louisiana parishes have instated curfews.

As of August 26, all of the following stores have been closed, sorted by Region, Market, and then Store Number.

Store NumberMarketRegionCityState
194606BAYTOWNTX
1186606LIBERTYTX
2439606BAYTOWNTX
3298606KEMAHTX
462616ALVINTX
482616WEST COLUMBIATX
504616GALVESTONTX
527616ANGLETONTX
529616LA MARQUETX
808616LAKE JACKSONTX
1405616BAY CITYTX
5388616LEAGUE CITYTX
2145036JASPERTX
2885036WOODVILLETX
2836613BRIDGE CITYTX
3316613SULPHURLA
3836613SILSBEETX
3846613LUMBERTONTX
4086613PORT ARTHURTX
4496613PORT ARTHURTX
4576613VIDORTX
4696613LAKE CHARLESLA
5216613LAKE CHARLESLA
6516613BEAUMONTTX
7776613WEST ORANGETX
12046613LAKE CHARLESLA
31112913FRANKLINLA
54012913MORGAN CITYLA
30913213ABBEVILLELA
31013213CROWLEYLA
38613213JENNINGSLA
40213213BREAUX BRIDGELA
41513213BROUSSARDLA
53113213LAFAYETTELA
53313213NEW IBERIALA
54313213OPELOUSASLA
293813213LAFAYETTELA
730113213CARENCROLA
31213413VILLE PLATTELA
40513413LEESVILLELA
50513413DERIDDERLA
77313413EUNICELA
110713413OAKDALELA
112813413MARKSVILLELA
372754164ALEXANDRIALA
373654164PINEVILLELA
512554164OPELOUSASLA
577354164NEW IBERIALA
658354164LAKE CHARLESLA
659054164LAKE CHARLESLA
709954364MORGAN CITYLA
461856264LEAGUE CITYTX
Supply chain best practices for a hurricane

There are a few key practices to follow to create a resilient supply chain during a hurricane. If you sell “emergency” items for natural disasters (e.g., bottled water or batteries), you should attempt to get as much product to affected stores as soon as possible. One way to do this is by working with replenishment managers directly. Another is to create a Store-Specific Order (SSO) to ship products straight to the affected stores.

However, some suppliers will see a reduction in sales as the stores close. If you are a non-emergency supplier, make sure to not ship to the closed stores or distribution centers as no one will be available to receive the orders. Instead, focus on shipping to other stores and DCs. Work with your replenishment manager on making sure you cancel POs for the correct reasons to avoid OTIF fines. Otherwise, expect replenishment as normal.

No matter what you sell, it’s important to stay in touch with your replenishment manager during natural disasters to make sure you’re communicating your needs. DCs and stores may be closed for days or even weeks due to damages, and some may be destroyed permanently.

Walmart is tracking the storm closely out of concern for its customers, associates, and suppliers. To this end, Walmart has created a Hurricane Laura status page you can visit to view updates.

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Written by The SupplyPike Team

About The SupplyPike Team

SupplyPike builds software to help retail suppliers fight deductions, meet compliance standards, and dig down to root cause issues in their supply chain.

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