Exchanges Escape Major Damage, But Still Dealing With Hurricane Helene Aftermath

Exchanges in the southeastern United States escaped major damage from Hurricane Helene, but some stores were still closed Monday morning because of power outages and other concerns at a few installations.

“There’s 100% accountability for all teammates, and there’s been minimal damage that we’re aware of,” South East Regional Vice President Tony Pares said during a Saturday meeting of the Exchange’s Disaster Support Group, a team of worldwide Exchange leaders that monitors weather and other world events to help keep every level of the organization prepared for storms and responsive to contingency situations.

Pares’ area of responsibility includes Florida and Georgia, both of which were hit hard by the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Thursday evening. Store closures during the weekend, as well as food losses caused by the power failures, led to combined losses of more than a million dollars at Exchanges in those states.

On Monday, Pares told the Exchange Post, “The minimal damage was at Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Air Field, Moody Air Force Base and Fort Eisenhower. It was limited to some exterior signs, ceiling tiles and Outdoor Living canopies.”

Winds from Helene wrapped solid sheet metal around trees behind the Express at Moody Air Force Base.

As of Monday morning, MacDill (in Florida), and Eisenhower and Moody (in Georgia) were still feeling the hurricane’s effects.

Moody AFB, in one of the areas most affected by the storm, is undergoing a power outage that could last at least a week before full restoration. But Exchange facilities appear to be in good shape, and despite the challenges, the Moody Express opened using a generator on Sunday, earning $15,000 in sales.

“The response from the customers has just been joyfulness and gratitude for having products available,” Moody Exchange General Manager Dale Killip said Monday morning. “Moody has been locked down, and the Express is the only store open on the installation. The main store and the commissary are still closed.”

Using a generator, the Moody AFB Express opened on Saturday despite power outages on the base. It was the onlyu store open on the installation. At the register is Customer Experience Associate Young Hyun Park.

At MacDill, command was not allowing anyone on the installation except for residents and “extreme mission essential” personnel. Power had not been completely restored, and command said that it expected to reopen “Tuesday at the earliest.” All Exchange facilities are in good condition and fuel levels are good, but stores haven’t been able to open.

Fort Eisenhower still has no power or water and is fully closed. Estimates for full restoration of the utilities range from four to seven days. The Waco Distribution Center has sent a mobile field Exchange to the post.

“The MFE is en route to support the community, which still has no water or electricity,” Pares said. “We will offer support with the MFE and with food trucks on Tuesday.”

Exchange food-truck vendors were already operating at the installation, drawing long lines and earning an estimated $20,000 during the weekend.

“The feedback was all positive,” said Fort Eisenhower Exchange GM LaToya Harris. “Customers really appreciated the support.”

Food trucks drew long lines at Fort Eisenhower during the weekend. The trucks, along with a mobile field Exchange, are scheduled to continue serving the community, where power and water are still out.

The Fort Eisenhower Exchange and South East Area have been working with Planning, Allocation & Replenishment (PAR), Logistics and Merchandising to bring emergency shipments of water, generators and other supplies to the post. Exchange facilities appear to be in good shape.

At Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Air Field in Georgia, power was back on despite continued outages in the surrounding areas. Emergency generators, water, gas cans and more were en route to the Exchange.

The widespread storm had also moved north into South Carolina, North Carolina and southern Virginia. But Central East Vice President Chris Holifield had good news.

“After some strong storms in Virginia [Friday] night that resulted in a brief tornado warning at Fort Eustis, I am happy to report that the weather has moved out,” Holifield said Saturday.

At Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, the McEntire Express/Troop Store has been closed since Friday because of a downed power pole. The store is expected to reopen Tuesday. Temporary storage was used to avoid losses of frozen and chilled product. Exchange teams are working on cleanup, and some associates were still affected by power outages in the surrounding area. Teams were preparing a water transfer to send to Fort Eisenhower.

Joint Bases Charleston and Langley-Eustis; Forts Jackson, Liberty and Gregg-Adams; and Seymour Johnson AFB were otherwise largely unaffected by the storm. Although there were numerous news reports during the weekend about catastrophic flooding in western North Carolina, Exchanges in the state are on the eastern side and were less affected.

In the North Central Area, all facilities were back to normal by Monday. Small stores at Chattanooga Army National Guard and Grissom Air Reserve Base in Indiana closed early Friday, but North Central Area Vice President Vanessa Rowland said that they are normally closed on non-drill weekends so there was little impact on their business.

On Saturday, heavy rainfall in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina was causing major transportation issues on Interstates 40 and 26, but Rowland said Monday morning that parts of both highways have reopened and that there is no damage to facilities in North Central.

South Central Vice President Antonio Porter, who was also on Saturday’s call, said that all locations in the area were operating under normal conditions by Saturday and that no damage had been reported.

Vice President of Fuel Steven Davalos said that the overall fuel supply in the South East Area is stable and improving,

“The hardest-hit sites from a fuel perspective were Stewart, Moody and Shaw Air Force Base,” Davalos said Monday morning. “Supply terminals were shut down due to power outages. Some of the impacted have resumed normal operations and the rest could be restored as early as Wednesday or Thursday.”

Davalos said that the fuel operation was able to leverage backup supply options during the weekend to maintain minimum tank levels at priority sites. He credited Fuel Operations Chief Greg Roland with guiding fuel coordination through the weekend.

The PAR, transportation and Waco Distribution Center teams are ready to provide additional support if needed.