Louisiana, Texas Cable Preps for Rita With Supplies, Prayer

Texas cable operators are bracing for Hurricane Rita by preparing for the worst and hoping for the best as forecasters predict the Category 4 storm will hit the Gulf Coast area Sat. Time Warner, Cable One and Cox are evacuating employees from area likely to bear the brunt and readying supplies and crews in safer locations. Firms with cable systems in the storm’s path already are reeling from Katrina. Washington Post Co.’s Cable One, the No. 1 Mississippi cable provider, said a third of customers in towns including Biloxi and Long Beach have lost their homes -- as have a similar portion of Cable One employees. Cox has some 250,000 subscribers in Louisiana and Texas systems perhaps in Rita’s path. During Katrina, Cox lost service in New Orleans, where some employees are without homes. Cable operators’ experience with Katrina may help them deal with Rita. Time Warner Cable has already set a plan for employees to check with the company after the storm to report their basic needs.
[SOURCE: Communications Daily, AUTHOR: Jonathan Make]
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