Brewery pauses beer production to provide emergency water during Hurricane Harvey

'Providing safe, clean drinking water is the best way we can help in these situations'

Evacuees arrive to seek shelter with Red Cross volunteers at the George Brown convention centre after flood waters of Hurricane Harvey forced them to leave their homes in Houston, Texas, on 27 August 201 (Marianna Parraga/Reuters)

Better known as a major producer of Budweiser, the Anheuser-Busch’s brewery in Cartersville, Georgia, has begun delivering drinking water in response to the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Harvey.

More than 155,000 thousand cans have been produced by the international supplier, with a truckload arriving in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, yesterday. Two more are scheduled to arrive in Arlington, Texas, in the coming days.

The Cartersville brewery occasionally halts production to stockpile emergency drinking water; this supply was ready to ship when the American Red Cross issued an urgent request for assistance for those affected by the hurricane.

With logistics and distribution systems in place for more conventional situations, the brewer required little notice to put the plan into action. “Putting our production and logistics strengths to work by providing safe, clean drinking water is the best way we can help in these situations” said Bill Bradley, Anheuser-Busch’s Vice President for Community Affairs.

After the storm hit Texas on Saturday, with widespread flooding winds of more than 100 mph, more than 6000 people are reported to have sought refuge in shelters over the weekend, with that figure thought to be a serious underestimate. The Red Cross has supplies for 34,000 people on the ground, with provisions for 18,000 more en route - although there has been controversy over the NGO's suitability for donations.

Anheuser-Busch has three facilities in the Houston area, with 1100 employees. All are thought to be safe.