hurricane photo diary
TRANSCRIPT
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2005 Hurricanes
PHOTO DIARY:Picking Up
the Pieces
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Hurricane Katrina battered cane farms just outside of New Orleans. Heavy winds blew over cane stalks, making the crop difficult to harvest
and lowering the cane’s sugar content.
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But sugar farmers knew that it could have been a lot worse. They felt fortunate that Katrina’s wrath was not more severe, until…
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…they learned what happened to the state’s most important sugar refinery.
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Domino Sugar’s refinery in Chalmette was crippled for four months.It refines 50-55% of Louisiana’s sugarcane crop and produces
nearly 19% of America’s refined cane sugar.
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Water levels rose to 9 feet in the rear of the plant. Flood waters destroyed the plant’s two electricity-generating substations.
Electrical equipment on the refinery’s first floor was demolished.
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Nearly 8 million pounds of refined sugar in the warehouse was flooded, creating a gooey mess about two-feet deep.
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The refinery became a staging ground for rescue operations.
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215 of the refinery’s 295 employees were left homeless, and many resided in mobile homes at the refinery—a community nicknamed “Chateau Domino.”
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Their lives changed forever, the men and women of “Chateau Domino” turned their attention to repairing homes and the refinery.
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Many said the Chalmette refinery would never operate again. They were wrong. The refinery reopened its doors on Dec. 12.
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Weeks after Katrina, Hurricane Rita came calling, leaving more than 30,000 acres of Louisiana sugarcane under salt water. That’s enough water to flood 70% of Washington, DC.
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Murky lakes replaced cane fields throughout the southern part of the state.
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Only after days of draining and pumping did the tips of eight-foot-tall cane reappear. This field was still under 5 to 6 feet of salt water.
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When the water finally receded, debris was left behind. This farmer’s home was swept off of its foundation and dropped in the middle of his cane field 200 yards away.
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Another farmer was even more surprised to find shrimp boats from the Gulf on his land.
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Debris made harvest, which had to be delayed more than two weeks, more difficult and much more expensive.
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Explosive tanks that littered the fields—many buried by sludge—alsomade harvest more dangerous.
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Young cane in recently planted fields died and had to be replanted. Because planting accounts for roughly 30% of a farmer’s operating costs,
flooded fields will be money losers for years to come.
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131,000 tons of Louisiana sugar was lost during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.Damage to the Louisiana cane industry is expected to total $128 million.
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The industry and the communities it supports must be rebuilt. Louisiana will need a stable U.S. sugar policy.
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Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn’t done. Hurricane Wilma parked over the sugar-growing region of Florida,
pounding the area with 100 mph winds for 5 hours.
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Every sugar field in the state was hit, and 100% of Florida’s sugar crop was flattened and damaged.
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Sugar mills in the state weren’t spared either.
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Farm equipment was lost…
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…rail cars used to transport sugar were toppled…
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…and sugar storage sheds were compromised.
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Total sugar production loss is estimated at 531,000 tons, and damage to Florida’s sugar industry will exceed $500 million.
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Like their colleagues in Louisiana, Florida’s sugar producers need sugar policy stability.
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Congress should extend America’s no-cost sugar policy.
It has a proven track record and will be key to Louisiana and
Florida rebuilding efforts.