Terrible flooding has hit Houston, the most populous city in the state of Texas, US, forcing an estimated 30,000 people to flee for refuge shelters after more than 20 inches of rainfall was dumped on the city in around 72 hours.
US President Donald Trump has issued major disaster declarations for the states of Texas and Louisiana, making government funds available for individuals and business owners to recover from the effects of the devastating storm.
One company hit by Hurricane Harvey was Kane Beef.
Based in the Texan city of Corpus Christi, the red meat processor closed its factory for four days from Friday 25 August until Monday 28 August and admitted its plant had been hit with unspecified “damage” following the Category 4 storm.
In a Facebook post, Kane Beef said the “great disaster” meant it was not possible to continue producing meat over the weekend. In the same post the company said it hoped to resume normal operational activities on Tuesday 29 August.
As the storm approached last week, the company’s CEO Alfred Bausch offered to pay his staff’s travel expenses as many fled the rising waters in Texas.
Many Kane Beef workers had insult added to injury after a payroll error meant a number of employees did not receive their weekly salary at a time of unprecedented weather for Taxes.
In a statement on the pay issue, Kane Beef said: “We would like to clarify and apologise for the events that have happened. This week we went to a new vendor for our payroll, as everyone knows it is by direct deposit. Contrary to rumours and what you may have been told, we did submit the payroll and fund the money for your hard work in a timely manner.”
The company said a “coding error” was to blame for the delayed payment and the plant closing down on Friday meant it was “impossible” to correct on the weekend.
Kane Beef recently became the first meat processor in Texas to start exporting beef to China.
The company could not be reached to comment on Hurricane Harvey.