The Advocate
Seventy-two percent of businesses that responded to a Baton Rouge Area Chamber survey said they expect to be operating at full capacity a week after Hurricane Ida hit the region.
BRAC said 73 businesses responded to the survey, which was posted at brac.org/prepare. Tuesday and will close at noon Thursday. Of the businesses that responded, 64% said Ida will affect their business operations.
Of the businesses that closed 72% said they shut down because they didn’t have power or internet service. The storm appeared to hit the smallest businesses the hardest, 77% of companies with less than 10 employees said they will have to close temporarily.
Less than 9% of businesses that responded to the survey said they expect Ida will have long-term effects, forcing a closure of more than 12 days.
Andrew Fitzgerald, BRAC senior vice president of business intelligence, said the initial reaction is the storm caused short-term disruptions, mainly due to a lack of utilities. He noted that more than a third of businesses said they were not impacted by the storm.
“While in the long-term most Capital Region businesses appear to have avoided tragedy, it’s important that we help the businesses and residents that did not,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “With more than 250,000 metro area homes and businesses still without power, it’s crucial that the recovery efforts continue apace.”