UPS has begun working directly with the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to support the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

In Louisiana, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco has organized a team to help direct the state's emergency relief effort. UPS is supporting the distribution and logistics efforts of that team.
In consultation with Gov. Blanco and also with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, UPS has placed individual liaison officers at the command of the state governments.
Two hurricane relief officers have been assigned to each of the two states, one to the governor and a second to the top Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official in the state. These UPS managers will remain accessible at all time to ensure that any emergency movement of food or supplies is handled as promptly as possible.
In Alabama, where damage from the hurricane was less widespread, UPS nonetheless is working with Gov. Bob Riley to ensure that any transportation needs are met.
As of Thursday, UPS already had moved more than 2,000 tons, of supplies for the relief effort.
"UPS is pledging its people and equipment to assist the states as part of what we call Operation Expedite Help," said Mike Eskew, UPS' chairman and CEO. "Katrina has stretched the resources of every local, state and federal agency. The business community can play an important role in the relief effort and that's why UPS has established Operation Expedite Help.
Over the past 10 days, UPS has transported more than four million pounds of relief supplies for federal, state and private relief organizations responding to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The effort, with starting points ranging from California to Vermont, has involved both air and ground movements and focused primarily on the transportation of water, medicine, baby formula, non-perishable food items, emergency supplies and paper goods.
Beyond those items, UPS also has moved a mobile kitchen for the U.S. Park Police; a mobile hospital from Reno, Nev., to New Orleans, and child-sized cots from California to Dallas. The company now is arranging the move of a mobile water treatment system from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Gulfport, Miss.