Businesses are bracing for Hurricane Joaquin
With winds clocked near 130 miles per hour as it starts battering the Bahamas, Hurricane Joaquin is expected to leave a path of devastation in its wake if it makes landfall in the U.S. afterward. That has businesses preparing for the worst.
Joaquin's path could mirror 2012's Hurricane Sandy, which pounded the Northeast, causing $62 billion in damage. Joaquin has been tough to predict so far, but it has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane and meteorologists consider it to be "extremely dangerous."
Public Service Electric & Gas, New Jersey's largest utility, today requested assistance from utilities from outside the region, including 1,500 lineman and 500 tree workers. Employees at the unit of Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) are trying to minimize storm damage today by getting concrete barriers, portable pumps and sandbags in position. Other utilities on the East Coast, such as Dominion Resources' (D) Dominion Virginia Power and North Carolina-based Duke Energy (DUK) are in similar predicaments.
"We are telling our own employees to prepare their families now for the storm," John Latka, PSE&G's senior vice president for electric and gas operations, said in a press release. "We strongly encourage our customers to do the same."
Companies in the potential path of Joaquin such as Baltimore-based mutual fund giant T. Rowe Price (TROW) are starting to implement their emergency plans, such as shifting operations to remote locations, according to spokesman Brian Lewbart.
Two Carnival (CCL) cruise ships, Carnival Valor and Carnival Pride, have changed their courses to avoid the Joaquin's path, according to Aly Bello-Cabreriza, a spokeswoman for the world's largest cruise company.
Walmart (WMT) and convenience store operator Wawa have teams in place to make sure the right merchandise gets to the right places. People often stock up on staples such as bread, milk and eggs ahead of potentially bad storms. They also load up on other provisions that might come in handy in the event of a power outage such as batteries, generators and fuel.
"We have kind of seen this one coming for a few days," Lucas McDonald, who oversees Walmart's storm response, told CBS MoneyWatch, adding that the discount giant has a daily conference call about the storm. "In many cases it's water. In many cases it's flashlights. In other cases diapers and baby formula are critical for that customer."
The Bentonville, Arkansas, company stockpiles supplies of some provisions that are needed during storms such as bottled water to allow store managers to quickly replenish their shelves, he said.
Wawa's Weather Crisis team is also monitoring the storm's progress and has responded accordingly.
It's a "cross-functional team representing our supply chain, transportation, facilities and operations associates who work on plans to support our stores and ensure they can remain open and provide essential services for the community, customers and first responders should a major weather event occur," wrote Lori Bruce, a spokeswoman, in an email.
Dean Foods (DF), the largest supplier of milk, also is being put to the test. "To further our preparations, we put in place generators if needed," wrote Jamaison Schuler, a spokesman for Dallas-based Dean, in an email. He added that when customers are ready to shop, "we generally can have them fresh milk within 24 hours, often sooner, because of the ability to optimize our network of dairy plants."