Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Thursday said 23 stores and distribution centers were closed in anticipation of Hurricane Rita, and 64 locations were likely to be shut by evening.
The world’s biggest retailer said more than 100 facilities were within a 120-mile radius of where Rita is expected to make landfall near Galveston, Texas.
Wal-Mart, which has more than 3,500 U.S. stores, had closed 126 locations when Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast late last month. Most of those have reopened, but nine stores were severely damaged.
The retailer said it had already shipped 154 trailers carrying more than 620,000 gallons of water in preparation for Hurricane Rita, and 24 generators were staged at Sealy, Texas. Some 42 facilities were prepared to accept dry ice.
