Hurricane Katrina ripped through Gulf Coast communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and has left millions without homes or businesses. While many may rebuild their lives in time, some will not return to the region to live or work. Unfortunately, the numbers may include HVAC businesses, wiped out by the ravages of wind, rain, and flooding.
According to News' contractor consultant Tom Lawson, owner of Advanced Air Conditioning & Heating, Shreveport, La., some HVAC businesses to the south, in New Orleans, will never return. "People can't wait three or four months to start up their businesses again," Lawson said. "They've got families to feed. Contractors are basically out of business. There is nothing to go back to."