Record-breaking rainfall. Far-reaching wildfires. Frozen roads. Dangerous winds. No matter how a disaster takes shape, they all bring disruption to our daily lives. How we prepare and respond determines how swiftly we recover.

For Peter McFarlane, store manager of Walmart Supercenter in Kerrville, Texas, a sudden  disaster put him at the forefront of critical decision-making that would directly impact his community. It all started when he woke up to a phone call at 4 a.m. on July 4, 2025, alerting that evacuated locals were gathering in his Supercenter parking lot. “I said, ‘Evacuated? From where?’ And they said, ‘From the flood.’”

What would later be called a “once-in-a-lifetime disaster,” the Guadalupe River flooding is now known as the sixth-deadliest freshwater flood in the United States.  

As the devastating impact of the flooding became clear, Peter relied on Walmart’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to get necessary supplies. “I asked for 80 pallets of bottled water. I needed buckets and trash bags and bleach. Anything we needed, we got.”

As the U.S. braces for an estimated 20 major disasters each year — along with dozens of smaller-scale catastrophic weather events in communities across the country — Walmart is investing in technology and nonprofit organizations to evolve and improve disaster response capabilities, enabling a proactive process that’s all backed by our strongest asset: our people.

A key player in proactive efforts is the Global Security Operations Center (GSOC), home to critical response units like the EOC. Outfitted with next-gen capabilities that put it at the intersection of risk intelligence, supply chain, operations and technology, the GSOC uses predictive modeling to generate automated forecasting across the U.S. that can help prepare for upcoming potential disasters.

By leveraging real-time weather intelligence, predictive modeling and data-driven insights, we're empowering our associates to anticipate risks, make faster decisions and pioneer the future of disaster preparedness and response.

For Tom Bedard, Walmart Emergency Operations Senior Manager, looking ahead in the GSOC means looking out for associates in the field. “The way we get associates in stores and clubs ready for weather events is so important. We’re looking at storm prediction forecasts to anticipate when a threat is relevant, and as soon as it crosses that threshold, we begin communications to help ensure they have every opportunity to prepare.”

More than 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart or Sam’s Club, putting millions of items at customers’ fingertips — including emergency items. To keep that inventory readily available, we rely on our vast network of distribution centers (DCs) and fulfillment centers (FCs).

A Walmart DC stores items to help inventory arrive more quickly to our stores and clubs. Delivery ahead of a storm provides the opportunity for customers to stock up in-store, at the club, online or through the app — with availability of 30-minute-or-less delivery across 33 U.S. markets.

No matter the type of disaster, the majority of emergency supplies needed to prepare and respond are the same, such as batteries, water bottles, flashlights, generators and more. By stocking and reserving known emergency inventory in nearby DCs, we help keep our communities ready.

Thanks to early forecasting, emergency inventory may be delivered to stores and clubs ahead of a storm to help provide customers the opportunity to stock up and prepare. For online shoppers, one-click emergency kit purchase options are enabled on Walmart.com. In the case of unexpected disasters, the GSOC will deploy essential items from nearby DCs to aid in relief efforts.

Walmart’s private fleet is powered by thousands of truck drivers like Dalton “Rickey” Oliver and JB Quarles. They know the impact one truckload can make to a community otherwise cut off from necessary items like food, diapers and clean water. To help drivers navigate dangerous roads in disaster zones, Walmart Radio reports live updates from the EOC, including the latest news from local governments and weather forecasts.

After a storm, drivers move inventory to where it’s needed most to support relief efforts in the impacted community. But for Rickey and JB, co-founders of the Walmart Cook Team, the work isn’t done at delivery.

The Cook Team is a group of drivers and volunteers who travel to disaster areas and provide hot meals. “We started with three people and a grill that could cook 300 hamburgers. Now we can serve up to twelve thousand meals a day,” says Rickey. “When we cook, we know we’ve got the full power of Walmart behind us.”

For the Walmart Cook Team, Supercenter parking lots in a disaster zone are the place to park, establish a safe traffic flow for people to line up and start grilling to give away hot food to those in need.  

“We’ve sent food out on airboats to reach people in Florida. We’ve fed first responders. Food is why we’re here, but in these moments, what we’re giving people is so much more than a meal,” says JB.

More than 1.6 million U.S. associates live and work in the 5,200 Walmart and Sam’s Clubs across the country and enable Walmart to become a force for good. Keeping our associates safe in the face of disaster is a driving priority.

In stores and clubs, TV displays broadcast weather reports while Walmart Radio provides live updates on storm activities and relief services. We continue to evaluate the latest technology to provide personalized, relevant updates to associates on existing channels.

When a disaster makes impact, Walmart parking lots transform into relief centers to support community needs. This may include hot meals, bottled water, mobile showers, laundry machines and charging and Wi-Fi stations.

This was the case with Peter and the Kerrville Supercenter, where unanticipated flooding forced his team to immediately launch into disaster response efforts.

“People had to leave their homes fast,” recounts Peter. “They came to our Supercenter in pajamas with no cars, no cellphones. Both myself and all my associates felt that we needed to do absolutely everything within our power to help.” 

Peter and his team spent the morning of July 4, 2025, converting the associate lounge into a relief center, serving coffee and breakfast to evacuees. Meanwhile, the City of Kerrville's Emergency Management team designated Walmart as the primary emergency refuge and EMS staging zone for local law enforcement and the fire department to gather. Nonprofit organizations also quickly arrived to the region to provide support, including Tides Loads of Hope, Operation BBQ Relief, the Salvation Army and Matthew 25: Ministries.

“We were the center of Kerrville response efforts, especially in those first seven days,” says Peter. “We were giving so much stuff away, I told my divisional leader we weren’t going to be in budget. And he said, ‘Peter, I don’t care about your budget. Do what’s right for your town.’”

While Peter’s team worked to solve the immediate challenges facing those on the ground, Walmart was in the background evaluating the larger needs of the community. In the aftermath of any disaster, the GSOC is in communication with federal, state and local governments to assess and evaluate our efforts. In response to the Kerrville flooding, Walmart, Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation provided grants and in-kind donations to support disaster response efforts.

Once disaster response has been met, the reset and restock of emergency inventory to local DCs is critical. “Disaster prep for us at the Global Security Operations Center is all encompassing,” says Tom. “It’s a routine of constantly looking at the predictive forecast to being ready to respond at a moment’s notice.”

At Walmart, serving our communities never stops, and neither does disaster preparedness. Whether evaluating needs moment to moment or assessing technology and process improvements for the upcoming season, our weather intelligence is a 360-degree, always-on force for good in the communities where we operate.