Supermarkets in areas affected by the floods are providing refreshments to local emergency services and to people stranded by the devastation.
Certain stores have been affected and closed due to power cuts and flooding but supermarkets claim deliveries are getting into sites in the flood-hit areas.
More than 120 flood warnings are in place across the country with 46 in the North West at ‘severe’, indicating a possible danger to life.
According to Defra more than 2,000 homes and businesses have been affected by the flood waters, which were an after effect of Storm Desmond.
Here is a rundown on how retailers have been affected:
Tesco
The Tesco superstore in Carlisle is currently flooded and closed. However, all other Tesco stores in the area are back open today after a weekend of power cuts.
According to the Tesco Blog: “A number of Tesco stores start their own clean-up operations today.”
A Tesco spokesman said the supermarket chain was “extremely proud” of its staff who have worked hard to keep stores stocked.
Tesco gave lunch to over 100 members of the emergency services and has helped supply items such as sandwiches, water and toothpaste to hundreds of people taking refuge in Kendal Village Hall.
“We are donating food and essentials to crisis centres and community groups and our colleagues have been working over the weekend to help those who need it,” he said. “We’ll continue to do our bit to help over the coming days and are doing our best to minimise the impact on local communities in the run up to Christmas.”
The supermarket chain is also setting up collection points in stores to enable customers to donate to people in need of essentials.
Morrisons
Morrisons has had a number of stores affected in the area with its Morecambe site closed at the weekend due to a power cut.
Cafes at its sites in Kendal, Carlisle and Hawick opened yesterday (Sunday) providing free food and drink to both local people and emergency services. The company also put a truck on the road loaded with essentials including water, ambient ready meals, babyfood and nappies to deliver to local crisis centres in Kendal, Penrith and Carlisle.
A spokesman said: “We have had a large number of stores affected but no major closures. We are getting deliveries into store and they are open. In some cases they are quite busy as people are looking for fresh food.”
Booths
Booths, the Northern retailer, has been forced to close its three stores in Torrisholme, Kirkby Lonsdale and Keswick due to a combination of power cuts and floods. All its other stores remain open.
Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer said stores in Kendal and Lancaster were providing refreshments to the emergency services but all its sites were trading.
A spokeswoman said: “We’re keeping a close eye on the situation but all stores in the affected areas are currently trading. Our stores in Kendal and Lancaster have already been providing refreshments for the emergency services.”
Iceland
Iceland had a number of stores affected by the floods but the majority have managed to reopen and customers are able to get to sites. Its Bishop Auckland site closed on Sunday after staff found the shop floor under two inches of water. The store reopened as normal today.
In Hawick, police advised the Iceland store to close around 3pm on Saturday and sandbagged the exit and entrance. It reopened on Sunday. An Iceland site in Carlisle was unable to trade Sunday due to flooding around the store but opened as normal this morning. Sites in Morecambe and Lancaster suffered from a power outage on Sunday morning. Both are expected to reopen tomorrow (Tuesday).
Depot deliveries have been cancelled today (Monday) in Morecambe and Lancaster as they are removing all the food waste caused by the power failure. Staff have been drafted in from the surrounding area to help the Morecambe and Lancaster stores check stock and clear waste to get ready for trade on Tuesday.
Aldi
Aldi stores have been unaffected.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “We have delivered a variety of products including fresh fruit, soft drinks, personal care products and nappies to help people in the local area.”
Waitrose
No stores have been affected.
A spokeswoman said: “The floods have fortunately not affected any of our shops, neither has the closure of the Forth Road Bridge impacted us.”
Booths
Booths, the Northern retailer, was forced to close its three stores in Torrisholme, Kirkby Lonsdale and Keswick due to a combination of power cuts and floods. All its other stores remain open.
Two stores in Kirkby Lonsdale and Keswick are still seriously affected and flooded. Torrisholme re-opened on Tuesday and is trading well.
Two sites in Kendal and Milnthorpe closed early on Saturday to allow staff to get home safely although these stores are open and are not flooded.
According to the company its stores in Scotforth and Carnforth have seen significant increases in sales.
Booths has launched a shuttle bus service to take customers in affected areas of Keswick & Kirby Lonsdale to nearby stores.
“Our store at Kirkby Lonsdale is currently closed as we have water in our basement, we’re working with our maintenance teams and staff are in the store working hard to re-open, we hope to be open again in a matter of days, “ said a spokeswoman.
It is not known when the Keswick site will reopen.
Booths has also admitted there has been some distribution issues as roads have been blocked. However it said that the distribution team has gone to great lengths to get stock to stores.
The Co-operative
A small number of stores in Cumbria were affected over the weekend and one remains closed.
“As this site is likely to be closed for a period of time due to the flooding we plan to introduce a pop up store,” a spokesperson for The Co-operative Food said.
“We were able to help those residents that had to leave their homes by delivering supplies to rescue centres set up in Cockermouth, Morton and Carlisle.”
Sainsbury’s
Three stores in Carlisle, Lancaster and Penny Street local remain closed due to the damage caused by Storm Desmond.
“We are currently assessing the impact before re-opening,” a spokewoman said.
“We are supporting the local community where we can and apologise for the inconvenience.”
British Retail Consortium
A spokeswoman said: “Effective and reliable transport links are crucial to the retail industry and its suppliers in order to distribute goods to homes, shops and warehouses. Thankfully most retailers already have well developed contingency plans in place to deal with disruptions and the current situation with flooding will certainly put these plans to the test.”
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