Gulf Coast Credit Unions Close as Major Hurricane Laura Approaches
Mandatory evacuations are in place as several credit unions close down ahead of Hurricane Laura.
Numerous credit unions between Galveston, Texas and Lafayette, La., have closed down ahead of a major hurricane expected to hit the Gulf Coast late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.
Hundreds of thousands of people in this 200-mile stretch along the Gulf of Mexico have been ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Laura is expected to become a strong Category 3 storm. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Category 3 hurricane will have sustained winds between 111 and 129 miles per hour.
According to calls made by CU Times to more than 15 different credit unions with multiple branch locations in the evacuation zones, most branches closed by noon on Tuesday to give credit union employees time to gather what they needed from their homes to head to safer areas inland.
A statement sent to CU Times from the Cornerstone Credit Union League said, “As our Houston- and Galveston-area credit union members evacuate and close their branches, Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation is poised and ready to take members’ calls. So far Cornerstone Credit Union League has heard from several credit union members who have closed their branches, including Sabine Federal Credit Union in Orange, Texas and AMOCO Federal Credit Union in Texas City, Texas.”
The president/CEO of the Cornerstone Credit Union League, Caroline Willard, said, “Our thoughts are very much with our members, staff and families on the Texas Gulf Coast as they await the arrival of Hurricane Laura.”
Many, but not all, credit unions in the evacuation zones updated their websites with emergency messages for members such as Neches Federal Credit Union, which stated, “Due to the recent mandatory evacuation orders, all Neches branches are closed effective immediately until officials deem it safe to return.” Neches serves more than 66,000 members in the Port Neches, Texas area.
Other credit unions, such as the $3.9 billion Texas Dow Employees Credit Union, appeared to take the storm warnings in stride. TDECU’s message said, in part, “We love the Texas Gulf Coast and simply can’t imagine calling any other place home. Along with the great, however, comes the not-so-great hurricanes.”
As many credit union leaders along this portion of the Gulf Coast recall, Hurricane Harvey made landfall three years ago this week in roughly this same area of Texas and Louisiana. Hurricane Harvey was a Category 4 storm. Nearly 200 credit unions were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.
Cornerstone League officials have asked credit unions within its membership to send status updates to DisasterNotification@cornerstoneleague.coop. According to a statement from the league, the Cornerstone Credit Union Foundation is ready to assist “with out-of-pocket expenses associated with evacuations to credit union employee relief efforts, a Foundation disaster relief grant can assist in members’ disaster recovery efforts.”
Information about the Foundation’s disaster relief grant program can be found on the Foundation’s website.
Calls to the Louisiana Credit Union League for information and comments were not returned.