GALVESTON — Some sought loans for repairs. Some were desperate for workers. Others just needed a little help to cover weeks of lost business income.
Each owner and manager at a Business Recovery Expo in the San Luis Hotel had a different story to tell Friday about what Hurricane Ike did to them.
But their goals were the same — to stay afloat and rebuild after the storm ripped off roofs, flooded thousands of buildings, wiped out suppliers, scattered employees and greatly diminished the island’s population.
Ike, which struck Sept. 13, left a sodden mess and the startling revelation that only about 16,000 National Flood Insurance Program policies were in force on the island.
‘A Lot Of Work’
Local, state and federal officials set up booths at the expo, organized by the Galveston Chamber of Commerce, to answer questions and lay out options for hundreds of small business owners hurt by one of the most catastrophic storms to hit the island in more than a century.
Unlike the floodwaters in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the island’s storm surge receded quickly and with it went national media attention. A presidential election and the crisis on Wall Street diverted attention from the storm’s wreckage. Few can comprehend the gravity of the situation and none have yet measured economic losses to the island, officials say.
There’s fear that if people forget about the catastrophe, so will agencies in a position to help.
“Some people have no inkling of the devastation,” said Gregory Harrington, chairman of the Galveston chamber’s board of directors.
“I talked to some people from around the country who thought a little storm blew through; they can’t comprehend the destruction that was left behind.”
‘Those Are Our Friends’
Lynn Eanes, who with husband John owns Galveston Automotive Professionals, 1918 Mechanic St. in the island’s downtown, said they were eager to reopen the repair shop. They’re luckier than most, they say. The services they offer are essential.
But they worry about their friends who sold luxury items from storefronts in historic buildings along The Strand. Most of those stores have been gutted, their contents piled on the sidewalks.
“When you look at the condition of The Strand, it’s frightening,” Lynn Eanes said.
Dozens of agencies attended the expo, where the Eanes said they learned vital information about U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans. The couple also visited the county tax assessor-collector’s booth to learn about contesting the appraisal value of their property to get it lowered.
A month after the hurricane, Galveston Automotive Professionals still was working to restore power, because storm surge damaged the shop’s main electrical panel.
The Eanes said they were lucky because they had the means to weather the storm.
The island would recover, but not all businesses would return, they said.
“It will never be the same, but that doesn’t mean it won’t come back,” Lynn Eanes said. “It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of help.”
Information Needed
Solid information and a way to cut through red tape was much in demand by island business owners, many of whom were waiting at the doors at 9 a.m. when the expo opened, chamber President Gina Spagnola said.
But along with information, business owners overwhelmed by rules, regulations and the number and sheer scope of tasks facing them need hope, Spagnola said.
“I think people are really hungry for this,” she said. “They need a reason to stay.”
Even businesses that escaped flood and wind damage were hurt by the storm.
Businesses able to open immediately after the storm are missing employees and customers. Housing is a huge problem. Many service workers lost their homes.
Only 60 percent of Galveston’s population — 34,000 or so of the 57,000 before the storm — are living on the island, city officials have estimated.
‘Same Boat’
Chili’s Grill & Bar, 500 Seawall Blvd., had set up a booth hoping to spread the word that it needed busboys and waitstaff. It lost more than 20 servers, manager Diana Hendricks said. Short-staffed, the restaurant closes at 6 p.m. In a typical offseason, its hours are from 11 a.m. to midnight.
Many of Chili’s employees were Texas A&M University at Galveston students, who are finishing out the semester in College Station.
“Everybody is in the same boat,” Hendricks said.
Predicting how long recovery would take for island businesses is complicated by problems plaguing others.
Disasters cause crucial networks to break down, said Gerald McSwiggan, special projects manager for the Business Civic Leadership Center, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Businesses must contend with what happened to employees, suppliers, customers, hospitals, schools, all the things around which communities revolve, experts say.
“Even if they survived the storm, there are so many things surrounding them that make businesses work,” McSwiggan said.
Another Planned
The chamber, with nearly 800 members, is planning another expo next month as a job fair and a venue for businesses to offer their services.
Officials still are deciding a date, Spagnola said.
Among other agencies attending the expo was city of Galveston Planning Department, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Texas Chamber of Commerce, the Governor’s Recovery Fund and the Galveston Economic Development Partnership.
“It was definitely a one-stop shop,” Harrington said. “I hope our members and other Galveston businesses found it as valuable as I did.”
