Hurricane Isaac Update: Embargoes Remain in Place
Announcement Number: CN2012-36
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: August 29, 2012
To Our Customers,
Hurricane Isaac made initial landfall on Tuesday evening in Plaquemines Parish in southeastern Louisiana and made a second landfall early this morning near Port Fourchon, La., 60 miles southeast of New Orleans, causing severe flooding and extensive power outages throughout a widespread area across southern Louisiana and Mississippi. The Category 1 storm is currently moving northwest at an estimated pace of six miles per hour and is expected to stay over the region for the next 24 hours, producing 80 mile per hour winds and up to 20 inches of rain in some areas. Once the storm has passed, we will begin to assess any damage to our rail infrastructure and position materials and equipment to aid in any necessary recovery efforts.
Union Pacific embargoes remain in effect for all shipments to and from the New Orleans area and for all Rail Security Sensitive Materials (RSSM) shipments that originate or terminate between Beaumont, Texas and New Orleans and between Baton Rouge, La., and New Orleans. For a current list of embargoes, please refer to the embargo (http://www.uprr.com/customers/embargo/list.shtml) section of the Union Pacific website. Customers with questions about shipments into and out of the New Orleans area and other embargoed areas should contact the National Customer Center at 1-800-272-8777.
Union Pacific operations personnel continue to work with CSXT and NS to reroute traffic normally interchanged at New Orleans to the Memphis gateway.
Customers with traffic scheduled through the New Orleans gateway should anticipate 24- to 48-hour delays as shipments are rerouted. We will continue to monitor the storm closely and provide updates as more information becomes available.
If you have any questions please contact your Union Pacific representative.