Tait holds tight on Houston after flooding

Christchurch firm Tait Communications said yesterday that its office in flood-hit Houston was unlikely to open on Monday, US time, out of concern for staff safety.

Tait Communications employs about 50 people at its office in Houston, Texas, which serves as its regional headquarters for North America.

New Zealand Trade & Enterprise was not aware of other Kiwi businesses being affected by the massive floods in the city, spokeswoman Kathy Milne said.

Government grants agency Callaghan Innovation is planning a trade trip to Houston for October, which it is assuming will still go ahead.

Air New Zealand began flying direct to Houston in 2015, but it does not yet appear to have become a significant hub for Kiwi businesses in the United States.

Tait Communications spokesman Bryn Somerville said yesterday evening – which was the early hours of Monday morning in the US – that its Houston office was believed to be undamaged by the flooding.

‘‘The last update we have had is the office is fine, but is unlikely to open on Monday because of the situation in the city. We will evaluate the situation after that.

"Our first concern is for the employees."

Tait spokesman Bryn Somerville

‘‘Our first concern is for the employees and it probably doesn’t make sense for people to be moving around in the city at the moment.’’

Callaghan Innovation plans to take representatives from between five and eight Kiwi medical technology companies to visit a lifesciences business accelerator at the Texas Medical Center in Houston in mid-October.

The centre, which claims to be the largest medical complex in the world, hosts a number of Australian medical technology companies.

The New Zealand trip is being planned in conjunction with New Zealand’s Consortium for Medical Device Technologies.

USA Today reported that the Texas Medical Center had been closing massive ‘‘submarine’’ doors, that are designed to seal off its lower floors from flooding.

The doors were installed after Tropical Storm Allison devastated the medical campus in 2001, it reported.

Callaghan Innovation spokeswoman Serene Ambler said Houston was a significant centre for medical technology. The companies it was taking to visit did not have any significant interests in Houston at the moment, she said.

‘‘We are taking them to see what what the opportunities are. At this stage, we haven’t changed our plans.’’

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the US.

Reuters reported that insurance losses from the flood damage in Texas from Hurricane Harvey could exceed the US$15 billion in losses from Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005.

However, the US Insurance Information Institute said it was too soon for precise estimates.