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[Hurricane Mitch] [Costa Rica and Panama Flood] [Hurricane Katrina] [Guatemala Flood 2005]
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Event:
Hurricane Katrina
Date:
August 2005
Country Affected:
U.S.A.
Chiquita Community Affected:
Port Operations Gulfport, MS
Number of Employees:
51 Chiquita & Fresh Express Employees
and Port Union Workers (ILA)
Number of Families:
26
Hurricane
Katrina struck United States Gulf Coast in August of 2005 becoming the
costliest and deadliest hurricane in the country’s history. The storm’s
strength and size caused devastation which spread over 100 miles from the
storm’s center. When the storm hit shore in the US it was the third
strongest storm making landfall in US’ history and destroyed much of the
Gulf Coast affecting Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The hardest
hit cities were Mobile Alabama, Waveland and Biloxi/Gulport Mississippi, and
New Orleans and the surrounding areas in Louisiana. The most publicized
damage came from the levees collapse and subsequent flooding of most of New
Orleans but the storm’s impact was felt across the entire region. The storm
claimed 1,836 lives and caused a record $81.2 billion in damages.
Chiquita’s Gulfport operations, employees, families, and communities were
heavily hit by the hurricane. The hurricanes indiscriminate path wiped
through the port operations completely wiping away the facility. Many
employees had their homes severely damaged or completely destroyed by the
high winds and heavy waters. Employees and their families were evacuated by
the company and given temporary shelter away from the coast to ensure their
safety during the first weeks following the devastating storm.
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Chiquita containers and paper rolls. |
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WE CARE RELIEF
What
(item listing): Cash,
Thanksgiving dinner, carpet/flooring, bikes for employee children, Christmas
tree and gifts for the holidays
Who was it distributed to:
Employees, Port ILA Workers and their
families.
Total Expenditure:
$26,750
Through generation
donations from employees and some Chiquita suppliers, We Care was able to
provide an immediate cash
gift to the families in the affected area to assist
them with immediate recovery needs. Specific grants were also given to help
some employees with expenses not covered by their insurance policies.
As the holidays
approached, each employee and ILA worker was given a gift card with a letter of
appreciation so that they
could purchase a Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate their
persistence and dedication to rebuilding their community. Additional
funds were
given during the winter holidays so that each child of the Chiquita community in
Gulfport could receive a gift.
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| Pat
Farrel, Port Manager, Gulfport, “Everyone was extremely appreciative of We
Care’s generosity and sincerity. Thanks again for what you have done for
everyone here........I'm so proud to work for such a great company.” |
Reports
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General News - Chiquita BBS
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TO: |
All Chiquita Employees |
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FROM: |
Bob Kistinger, President & Chief Operating Officer, Chiquita Fresh |
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DATE: |
Aug. 30, 2005 |
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SUBJECT: |
Hurricane Severely Damages Gulfport |
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I’m sorry to report that Chiquita’s port facilities at Gulfport, Miss.,
were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately, all 20 of our
employees in Gulfport have been accounted for, and we are grateful. We are
continuing to try to establish sustainable contact with our employees.
Gulfport is one of five U.S. ports the company uses to import bananas and
other fresh produce. The city of Gulfport sustained tremendous wind and
water damage, and many port facilities, including ours, have been severely
affected. While we are still assessing the situation, it is clear that we
will need to relocate our services from Gulfport for the foreseeable
future. However, we are very committed to Gulfport and are developing
plans to rebuild our facilities there as soon as possible.
In 2004, Gulfport handled approximately one-quarter of the company’s
banana imports to the United States with weekly shipments from Central
America. In the near term, the company plans to utilize Freeport, Texas,
Port Everglades, Fla., and possibly other ports to handle shipments that
were previously scheduled to Gulfport. |
Taken
from:
Chiquita BBS:
Hurricane Katrina
Damage and Relief Update
Chiquita has now had direct contact with all 26 port and distribution center
employees in Gulfport, Miss. Also impacted was Bruce Blaum, a Fresh
Express field service team member who lives in New Orleans. According to
Parker Booth, vice president of food service for Fresh Express, Bruce had
evacuated before the hurricane but returned to New Orleans to check the damage
to his home. Unfortunately, he got caught in the flood when the levees broke,
and waded several miles to his parents’ home. Although his parents had
evacuated, he was able to retrieve a working car at their house, drive out and
get his first shower and clean clothes in five days.
Help for
Affected Employees
Some of the Gulfport employees are now living in the condos the company has
secured in Pensacola, Fla. and Orange Beach, Ala. “All of the employees were
offered temporary housing, but some who have generators have chosen to stay at
their homes, and others chose to stay with nearby family or friends for the time
being,” reported Bethany Heath, who is coordinating all assistance for
the employees. Four of the employees have reported that their homes were
completely destroyed, but almost all had some type of damage.
Chiquita has committed to continue to pay the salaries of the impacted
employees, and has arranged for representatives from VMC Behavioral Healthcare
Services, our Employee Assistance Program providers, to visit each of the
temporary housing complexes to help the employees and their families. “We’re
also sending a laptop to each of the housing complexes so provide them with
Internet access to contact family and friends, manage personal finances, file
insurance claims, etc.,” said Heath.
“I’ve received numerous calls from employees offering clothing and other items
to the Chiquita victims of the hurricane,” Heath added, “but we’re not at the
point yet to accept donated items. The best thing you can do to help your
co-workers is to donate money to We Care or another relief agency. We’ll let
everyone know when we’re able to arrange shipments to the employees.”
Although only 27 employees have been directly impacted by the hurricane, many
others may have friends or relatives who may be victims. If you and your
eligible dependents need help coping with the stress of the situation, call
Chiquita’s Employee Assistance Program at 1-800-843-1327 for free and
confidential help.
Chiquita
Helps Hurricane Refugees
As we announced on Friday, Chiquita donated 117 containers of bananas to help
feed the hurricane refugees. According to Deverl Maserang, vice
president, North American logistics, Chiquita is working with Second Harvest,
FEMA, the American Red Cross and other local and regional food banks to
distribute the bananas. “We’re partnering with our core carrier companies (Cieutat,
GB Express, R&O and Ryder Integrated Logistics) to deliver the bananas to
evacuation shelters as far west as Houston and San Antonio, Texas, and as far
east as Atlanta and Valdosta, Ga. To give you a better idea of how helpful our
banana donation is, those 117 containers of bananas represent approximately 4.5
million pounds or about 10 million fingers.” The donation is valued at more than
$1 million.
“Our trucking partners are also bringing back to the damaged areas such things
as ice, generators and pet supplies, since the Humane Society is using our
Gulfport distribution center, along with Second Harvest,” Maserang added.
We Care
Helps Employee Hurricane Victims
Johnmark Oudersluys, who heads the Chiquita Relief Fund – We Care,
reported that emergency cash funds had been sent to the impacted employees to
help them with their immediate needs. We Care is now focused on raising funds to
help employees meet any specific needs that may be identified.
Thank you for caring and
making this work possible...
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