H&R Block says about 125 of its tax offices were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

At the same time, the Kansas City-based company said it must gear up for scores of taxpayers anxious to immediately file for disaster assistance. Taxpayers may also need help filing next year's income returns, given that their financial records are lost and their employers are at least temporarily defunct.

In the meantime, H&R Block says it's trying to track where displaced residents have gone and may increase staff at offices in those areas, such as Houston.

A spokeswoman says with many of the evacuees now without work, the company could train them to become tax filers for their fellow evacuees.