Local Firms Cope with Losses, But Many Still Aid Recovery

摘要

Along with thousands of other businesses in Gulf Coast areas damaged by Katrina, engineering firms and contractors are weathering their own losses, even as many rush to help local clients and hard-hit cities, and gain a foothold in the growing recovery effort. Some say that it will take a while to get their businesses back on track. For most firms, the first mission was to locate employees and assess their situation. San Francisco-based URS Corp., which says it is the largest engineer in the Gulf region with more than 700 employees, including 500 in New Orleans and suburb Metairie alone. It spent 10 days "trying to find everyone," says Senior Vice President Vincent Provenza, a city native whose own elderly relatives waited five days for rescue. With phones and e-mail down, URS resorted to placing ads in local newspapers.