DMG Aids Victims of Hurricane Laura in Lake Charles

9.14.2020 | DMG Blog |

Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana at 2 am on August 27th, packing winds of up to 150 mph. As the storm moved north towards Lake Charles, LA, it continued its path as a Category 2 storm. Less than a week later, DMG was there to aid victims of Hurricane Laura in Lake Charles.

During my visit to Lake Charles to oversee the two base camps deployed by DMG, the Louisiana National Guard were in full force. That’s because two weeks after it first made landfall, about half of Calcasieu Parish where Lake Charles is located was still without power. According to Lt. Col. Scott Desormeaux, Hurricane Laura was the worst he’s seen, calling it “worse than Rita.”

Lake Charles one week after Hurricane Laura
Lake Charles one week after Hurricane Laura

DMG deployed two, 150-person base camps in downtown Lake Charles. One camp was sponsored by Calcasieu Parish and the other for the City of Lake Charles. Both camp were stood up in 72-hours from our notice to proceed. DMG was the only disaster response firm to physically meet with both the Parish and City just days after the storm.

“We had to scramble to pull together the resources we needed to standup these camps just days after the storm”, according to Tom Rubio, DMG’s CEO. “We relied heavily on partners like Mobile Modular Portable Containers, Sunbelt Rentals and Hannah Brothers among others to make this happen”.

DMG Base Camp deployed for the Calcasieu Parish in Lake Charles
DMG Base Camp deployed for the Calcasieu Parish in Lake Charles

One of the things that made the deployment of these camps possible was the use of portable office/storage units from Mobile Modular. We had our first set of mobile containers onsite within 24-hours of making initial contact with Mobile Modular. Each unit sleeps 6-people, and features two air conditioners, veneer-wood flooring, ample power outlets, two doors and two windows.

Modular unit being removed from a flatbed via a fork lift
Modular unit being removed from a flatbed via a fork lift

Since both sites required 25-containers, we received units both day and night to meet the tight timeframe we agreed to with both the Parish and City.