In The Eye of the Forgotten Storm: Our Story of Hurricane Rita – CITGO Lake Charles Refinery

Description

In The Eye of the Forgotten Storm: Our Story of Hurricane Rita is the official book of the CITGO Lake Charles Refinery for the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Rita.

In September of 2005, Hurricane Rita, a Category 5 monster storm, took aim at the Louisiana and Texas border, where refineries dot the Gulf Coast. Among them was CITGO Lake Charles. As Southwest Louisiana braced for Hurricane Rita, only weeks after Hurricane Katrina had ravaged New Orleans, CITGO Lake Charles faced a shut down for the first time in the refinery’s history.

Local leaders executed a successful evacuation of the residents in Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes, including the 25,000 evacuees taking refuge in the area from Hurricane Katrina before Hurricane Rita slammed into the Louisiana coastline as a Category 3 storm. In the aftermath of the storm, CITGO Lake Charles employees and the people of Southwest Louisiana pulled together to recover when basic resources were scarce.

From shutting down production of 425,000 barrels daily of crude oil, to the arrival of 500 FEMA trailers to house employees on site, to providing healthcare to employees despite limited supplies, the team at CITGO Lake Charles recovered among unprecedented challenges. They dealt with their own devastated homes and communities while they brought the refinery back online. CITGO Lake Charles was the first refinery in the area to resume operations after Hurricane Rita, fueling first responders, local communities and the nation.