A port engulfed: poultry, produce shippers seek alternate routes as hard-hit Gulfport tallies Katrina's damage.

When Hurricane Katrina swept in and demolished much of Gulfport, Miss., it wasn't the first time Mother Nature had treated the port harshly.

Other Gulf Coast ports, especially New Orleans and Pascagoula, Miss., sustained heavy damage, but it appears that Katrina dealt Gulfport her hardest blow.

In 1969, Hurricane Camille almost totally destroyed the port. But Gulfport officials and tenants slowly rebuilt the Mississippi port, and the fiscal year that ended June 30 was the busiest on record.

Mississippi State Port Authority's tonnage and activity report for fiscal year 2005 shows that 2.53 million tons of cargo moved across Gulfport docks, a 4.8 …