 
Hurricane Isaac Leaves Louisiana Glass Shops
Closed and Without Power
August 30, 2012
by Katie O'Mara, komara@glass.com
Hurricane Isaac swept into the Louisiana coastline on Wednesday bringing damaging
winds and driving rain to the area. New Orleans and surrounding
cities, which were pummeled by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, braced
for the category one storm and locals closed up shop and headed
indoors. Louisiana glass shops are reporting loss of power and more
intense wind and rain than expected.
"We have minor roof damage that has been repaired this morning.
Our plants have full power in all three buildings and we do not
have or expect to have any rising water problems," says Will
Watts of Dependable Glass Works in Covington, La. "About 99
percent of all our employees are without electricity and today is
the first time they have been able to go outside to access damages.
Many employees are unable to leave home because of high water, downed
trees or because emergency personnel shut down roads for debris
and power line repairs. I expect things to return to full speed
on Tuesday as water recedes, power begins to be restored and those
who have evacuated begin to return. We do have sales personnel answering
phones and quoting projects though."
"Our power is still out, but we expect it to return in the
next 24 to 48 hours," adds Jason Coffey, owner of Capital Glass
in Baton Rouge, La. "We'll probably operate a skeleton crew
until Tuesday after Labor Day and then we expect to be full speed."
The Glass Doctor corporate office was able to touch base with a
number of its shops in Louisiana yesterday, some open and operating
in parts of the state, while others were closed or unreachable.
"We haven't heard from Glass Doctor of New Orleans, owned by
Sharilyn Glover, at this time," said Rebecca Broadus, public
relations specialist for Glass Doctor yesterday. "It's probably
due to downed phone service and electricity."
Getting back in the shop was an unknown yesterday as many residents
and business owners were unable to even go out of their homes to
see what damage had been done.
"The storm was stronger than we all thought," says a representative
from Service Plus Auto Glass in Metairie, La. "The storm is
still pounding us now and we are not sure when we will be back at
work."
Has your business been affected by Hurricane Isaac? Tell us your
story by emailing Penny Stacey at pstacey@glass.com.
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