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Weekly UpdatesEven during the best of times, property managers know they must be ready for disaster to strike. Building emergencies (fires, power outages, bomb threats, medical emergencies, etc.), weather-related emergencies (tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, wild fires, etc.), geologic emergencies (e.g., earthquakes, landslides) and other types of emergencies (including nuclear accidents, acts of terrorism and even swine flu outbreaks) are beyond a property manager's control. Yet, while disasters such as these cannot be prevented entirely, their effects can be mitigated and losses minimized through effective planning and timely action.
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The opportunity for effective action greatly increases if property managers are prepared before a disaster occurs. Every property should have emergency procedures and business continuity plans in place that address the property's unique needs, in order to minimize damage and facilitate a coordinated, proactive response. IREM Members have risen to the challenge through many adverse situations, and have learned from past disasters how to become even more prepared for the future. The Midwest Floods of 2008 are examples of disasters that tested the mettle of many property managers who responded quickly to preserve their assets.
DISASTER STRIKES THE MIDWEST
It has been more than a year since the floods of 2008--brought on by heavy rainfall in early June--barraged the Midwest and left behind a wake of devastation. Even today, many homes and businesses are still struggling to recover from the catastrophic damage wreaked by the deluge.
Great damage was immediately evident: the loss of life, displacement of people, and failure of power, sewage and transportation systems. The floods stopped businesses in their tracks, destroyed residential areas and sent property managers scrambling to protect their assets. Those with disaster plans in place were best positioned to mitigate, if not prevent, the results of these calamities.
After the waters receded, the crisis was far from over. According to Bob Anderson, public affairs officer for the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, water damage--to furniture, carpeting, electronics and other property--and potentially deadly mold were only two of the many aftereffects that Midwesterners faced.
"Flooding no doubt can cause total devastation to a facility," said Douglas Papineau, director of the U.S. General Service Administration's Iowa property management office in Des Moines. "Knowing the potential risks and having a plan to minimize the impacts is paramount."
GETTING A JUMP-START ON DISASTER
Connie Chapman, RPA, director of management at Ryan Companies in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had a written flood-proofing plan for the Great American Building, an eight-story, 140,000-square-foot office building that her company manages and uses as its headquarters. Because of the building's location near the banks of the Cedar River, such a plan was required by the Cedar Rapids Floodplain Management Ordinance.
The plan was reviewed each spring and required preventive measures such as placing expandable plugs in all floor drains and sandbagging the outer walls against plastic sheeting to a height of two feet.
As river levels rose in spring 2008, Chapman took additional proactive measures. She recorded model and serial numbers from ground-floor equipment in case it became necessary to replace parts; set elevators to the second floor and locked them; lifted items such as computer servers from the floor onto desks; and contacted contractors about work that would be needed as soon as the water receded.
Des Moines was another hard-hit area in 2008. Krista Capp, CPM[R], vice president of property management at Hubbell Realty in West Des Moines, knew the company's buildings in the downtown River Point Business Park might be affected by flooding. With her company's business continuity plan in hand, she handled essential tasks such as stocking up on sandbags, preparing a complete inventory of properties and vacancies, renting large pumps and hiring a security company to monitor the water level and send her updates.
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On the day the flood was expected to hit, Capp stood on the riverbank and watched it come.
"At one point, a four-foot diameter pipe system broke and water poured into our area," Capp said. "Through our business ties we were immediately able to get hundreds of truckloads of dirt to rebuild the levee around the broken pipe and as a result we had no damage from flooding."
COMMUNICATION & ACTION
As the water levels began to rise, well-prepared property managers knew what to do. They began contacting and staying in touch with government officials and agencies for up-to-the-minute flood reports.
"You can never get enough information in these types of situations," Papineau said. "The media can release skewed information, so you should know how to validate reports quickly through trusted sources."
Capp checked the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Web site for information on when the river was expected to crest. Additionally, her company created its own comprehensive flood Web site to share knowledge--compiling information gleaned from the city, the department of public works, the USACE and local TV and radio news programs. The site was updated every hour and became very popular in the Des Moines area.
In Columbus, Ind., as torrential rains fell, Mike Reed, CPM, vice president and facilities manager for Irwin Union Bank, turned to his company's disaster recovery plan for a list of emergency contractors and suppliers. This plan, written by representatives of the bank's various departments with help from an outside consultant, had been tested annually at the company's main office in Indianapolis.
"There was nothing we could have done to prevent the disaster we had," Reed said. "But a good disaster recovery plan and good vendors and contractors waiting in the wings can help you recover much more quickly."
Property managers with contact lists already compiled were definitely one step ahead of the pack. Looking back on the flooding in Des Moines, John Bergman, CPM, director of real estate management at Terrus Real Estate Group, remembers wishing he had compiled a more complete contact list.
"It would have helped to have cell phone numbers for the various government offices we needed to contact. Their landlines were out and we could have used their help with traffic control and other issues," Bergman said.
The most proactive property managers quickly lined up post-disaster help before the waters hit.
"After a disaster occurs, everyone will be vying for the same resources," said Ines Pearce, CEO, Pearce Global Partners, Federal Way, Wash., and senior advisor to the Civic Leadership Center for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. "By being proactive, you can be a few steps ahead of your competitors."
Keeping tenants informed was another key communication issue. John Viggers, CPM, NAI/Ruhl and Ruhl Commercial Co., in West Des Moines, activated a calling tree in place for such situations.
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"Before the flood, we updated our list of backup numbers for people who were away from the building so that we would know how to contact them," Viggers said. "We made sure we knew how to get [in touch] with two or three people from each business and I made sure they all had my cell phone number."
In Des Moines as flood waters rose, Bergman called the owners of Buzzard Billy's restaurant--a lower-level tenant in a seven-story commercial office building he manages. He told them to remove as much of their property as possible. Soon after the tenants finished their work, the facility was inundated with 10 feet of sewer water. Items left behind were completely destroyed.
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DISASTER RECOVERY-PLAN AND EXECUTION
In each Midwest city hit by flooding, the water gradually receded and the cleanup began. At the Irwin Union Bank in Columbus, Ind., water stood three inches deep on the first floor and completely filled the basement. According to pre-flood arrangements, contractors arrived to pump out the water, remove debris, tear up carpeting and drywall, and power wash the floor and walls.
In Des Moines, the gas-powered pumps Capp had put into place prior to the flood were manned and running 24/7 to clear ground water.
In Cedar Rapids, a few days after the flooding, Chapman called her tenants and coordinated a "grab and go" so that they could retrieve their property. Tenants were warned to wear galoshes, carry flashlights and bring boxes. Each had only 15 minutes to gather what was most needed from the hot, stinky building. Perhaps because the company was so accommodating, it lost none of its tenants after the floods.
PREPARING FOR NEXT TIME
Property managers know they always have to be ready for anything. Anderson underlines this truth, calling the 2008 events a "500-year-flood." This means that there is a 1-in-500 chance of that kind of flood occurring in any particular year, Anderson said, not that it can happen only once every 500 years. For instance, there was similar flooding just 16 years ago in 1993.
These unlikely events have influenced a number of new initiatives, both public and private.
Property managers are learning more about flood insurance, which can offer some protection. Property owners who had FEMA flood insurance were covered in 2008, said Alan Dooley, public affairs officer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District.
"If your private property insurance doesn't specifically cover you for flooding, you may find that damages are not compensated," Dooley said.
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