Recovery Operations Shift into High Gear Following Hurricane Katrina Disaster training

Sept. 23, 2005
In the first few days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, electrical distributors, manufacturers and independent manufacturers’ reps are still assessing damage to facilities and searching for lost employees.

In the first few days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, electrical distributors, manufacturers and independent manufacturers’ reps are still assessing damage to facilities and searching for lost employees.

Because some regions are difficult to reach because of flooding, communication and security concerns, those have been tough tasks.

Earlier this week, Summit Electric Supply, Albuquerque, located the last of its two unaccounted-for New Orleans employees. The company was unable to check on its New Orleans service center until Sept. 6.

In the early days following the hurricane, the company was restricted from visiting the service center and had been denied permission to fly over the area.

“We were very lucky. There’s a moderate amount of damage on the roof and a little bit of water damage as a result of the roof, but it was very minor,” said Shelia Hernandez, the company’s vice president of marketing.

The company has 14 New Orleans-based employees who are now scattered as far away as Virginia to Texas. Of those employees, four have lost their homes. The other 10 employees are unable to occupy their homes because of water damage or loss of power.

Branches of the Dallas-based Rexel USA, in Gulfport, Miss., and Harahan, La., were seriously damaged by the hurricane, and the company has still not been able to verify the condition of three employees associated with the Harahan branch.

All 29 employees at the New Orleans branch of Graybar Electric Co., St. Louis, are safe, but many of their homes are damaged. Some homes lost a few shingles, while others are completely lost. The hurricane did minimal damage to the branch, but it destroyed several surrounding buildings.