The impact of Hurricane Harvey and its fury made this past month one of the most difficult in the history of Houston and surrounding areas. The record rainfall and historic flooding in South Texas was unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Millions of people were affected, hundreds of thousands displaced and untold numbers of families are faced with rebuilding their homes and lives. Included in these numbers are some within the B&W Energy Services family. We know many have and are continuing to aid our region, and we are appreciative.
A few of our employees suffered damage to their homes due to flood waters rising, but we are moving forward with repairs and working towards getting life back to normal as much and as quickly as possible. We saw great support among our team here in South Texas, as employees helped employees in cleanup efforts. We saw the resilience of our staff and so many others in our area in the midst of a natural disaster. We also witnessed the amazing support of people from across our state, our neighbors in Louisiana and Oklahoma and rescue efforts from across the nation come to our aid in the darkest of hours.
The flooding from Hurricane Harvey devastated businesses as well, many of which are just beginning to recover. We are happy to report B&W escaped with minimal impact or disruption. We had very minor water intrusion at our Seaco Avenue office and no other ill effects. The only impact on our operations was delays in shipping equipment to projects outside our area. We continue to execute projects globally and take part in the recovery here at projects along the Gulf Coast. The projects in the South Texas region where we were executing services required securing equipment and demobilizing our team. Since the hurricane, we have been working diligently with our clients and owner representatives at projects in Baytown, Beaumont and Plaquemine Parish to assess damage and develop a recovery plan to get project schedules back on track. Some of these have already resumed operation.
B&W is truly a partner to our clients, EPC’s and owners — not just in words, but also in actions. In the toughest of times, we have pulled together. You have probably heard or seen “Houston Strong” used frequently during Hurricane Harvey to talk about the people here in South Texas, the bravery, determination, and willingness to help each other. We can testify that it is absolutely true. And, we are proud to be part of it.
We have overcome Harvey. And we’re helping our staff and clients overcome as well.