Northrop Grumman sending relief to LC

NEW ORLEANS - Three 53-foot trailer trucks loaded with supplies and equipment departed Northrop Grumman's New Orleans facility on Tuesday to assist the company's Lake Charles facility with Hurricane Rita recovery efforts.

The trucks containing food, water, ice, generators, compressors, 1,980 gallons of diesel fuel, tarps, acetylene torches, corrugated siding, cleaning supplies and a washer and dryer, are intended to provide relief to company employees in Lake Charles after they took care of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems employees in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

"This is our way of returning the favor to our fellow Northrop Grumman teammates who have suffered the impact of Hurricane Rita," Woody Oge, the site director at Northrop Grumman's New Orleans facility, said in a statement. "They really came to our aid when we needed it right after Katrina and we're just glad to be able to help them out in their time of need."

The Integrated Systems sector in Lake Charles transported fuel and water to the New Orleans facility to assist the yard in restoring operations after Katrina. Northrop Grumman is utilizing the emergency-response experience learned from past storms to allow facilities to assist each other in times of need, company officials said.

The company said it is working with various federal and state agencies to provide temporary housing for displaced employees.