The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was truly like no other, with a record 30 named storms causing no shortage of havoc and damage in the Southeastern United States. Of these 30 storms, however, Hurricane Laura was particularly noteworthy, as the storm was tied for the strongest hurricane to hit Louisiana. Whether affected by Laura or another storm, we wish everyone who had been impacted by the 2020 hurricane season the best in their mid-to-long term recovery.
With short term recovery efforts well in the past, however, we’d like to take a look at how we performed in getting critical businesses and facilities back on their feet in response to the hurricane. Laura’s aftermath was yet another opportunity to do what we do best: provide temporary power and HVAC solutions, especially as part of our disaster relief services. This year’s storm response also set records for MAPR, so here’s a breakdown of what we brought to the table for Hurricane Laura relief.
Let’s start with some information about Hurricane Laura itself. It was a Category 4 hurricane, which is the second highest categorization on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. Category 4 storms are all but ensured to cause catastrophic damage in affected areas. The storm had a radius of 175 miles and a top wind speed of 145 mph. All in all, the storm was quite devastating to Louisiana and other affected areas, such as islands in the Caribbean.
Mobile Air & Power Rentals knew there was a lot of work to be done in Laura’s aftermath. Over 50 employees were deployed to Louisiana, which was a mixture of technicians, management, and staff from several other teams within MAPR. 77 megawatts of total power were installed between countless generators, which more or less comprised of every available generator in our inventory. We also deployed 12,000 tons of cooling to provide climate conditioning wherever appropriate.
Among the generators and air conditioners we delivered were 10 disaster relief trailers, packed with LGR dehumidifiers and fans. In total, we provided 4,000 LGRs and fans. In terms of drying solutions, we provided 500,000 CFM of dehumidifier airflow.
Hurricane Laura caused significant damage to the Louisiana coast and left us with plenty of work to do after things settled down. Thankfully, we were able to put ten toes down and provide the area with the disaster relief they needed and deserved.
