By the time Hurricane Ivan threatened Florida in September, Michael Martin had already made multiple trips to buy supplies and materials to protect his company's properties. "It's bad when they know you by name at Home Depot," says Martin, executive director for human resource development (and the unofficial disaster preparation expert) at CALEX Realty Group, a 10,000-unit property management firm based in Jacksonville, Fla.
After all, the Sunshine State had already braved two other hurricanes–Charley and Frances–before Ivan made its approach. Satellite photos capture the late summer storm succession well: As Frances spins over Florida, Ivan waits, hovering in the southeast.
It's an ominous photo, especially for a state that was still recovering from Hurricane Charley's hit. But Martin and his colleagues in the multifamily industry were ready. "Hurricanes are different from any other type of disaster because it's a planned disaster," he says. Weather forecasters can predict with reasonable accuracy when the storms will hit, he explains, giving people time to make preparations and evacuate areas in the storm's path.
Still, all the advance warning in the world won't make a difference if one doesn't know what to do. Says Martin: "The first thing and the last thing we tell people is, 'Be prepared.'"
Brief Your People At CALEX, which instituted a disaster management program after a near-miss with Hurricane Floyd in 1999, hurricane preparation and education always begins June 1–the first day of the six-month hurricane season.
Employees new and old are reminded to update their personal emergency plans and supplies, from keeping an ample supply of medications available to stockpiling batteries and cash. "That's typically what falls apart," Martin says. "People think it's no big deal, and they're the ones who end up in a panic situation, standing in line at the grocery store, where there's a run on batteries and bottled water, or stuck on the interstate running out of gas, or going to Atlanta, where there are no hotel rooms left."
By helping employees prepare themselves and their families, the company believes, those on site will be better able to assist and soothe residents in a severe weather situation. "They have to know how to deal with these issues," Martin says, "because out of 3,000 residents, 2,000 will be in their offices asking, 'Where do I go?' 'What do I do with my pets?' 'Where are the shelters?'"
They must also know how to best evacuate the property. That can be a challenge in some apartment properties, where there are limited numbers of entrances (and exits). Finally, they need to be aware of residents who might need extra help or time–elderly retirees, children, or immigrants who may not be familiar with such storms.
Of course, the company does its best to educate residents in advance of storm weather as well. Each hurricane season, tenants receive a letter that offers advice on bracing for such a storm and outlines the property's procedures in such a situation. "Once we're under a hurricane watch [which generally comes 36 to 48 hours before a storm makes landfall], we go to a skeleton crew," Martin says. "Once we're under a hurricane warning, the offices are closed."
Protect the Property Before a property can be closed, though, the buildings and grounds must be prepared. Hurricane-force winds (which register 74 miles per hour and up) can turn just about anything not tied down into an airborne hazard. Lounge furniture should be tossed into the pool, flags and banners should be taken down, garbage cans should be stored, and outdoor furniture, flowerpots, and any other freestanding items should be removed from balconies and patios. "It's hard in apartments and condos because you're so reliant on your neighbors," says Scott Schiff, a professor of civil engineering at Clemson University in South Carolina.
But wind isn't the only worry for those in a storm's path: Water can be just as threatening. Because of flooding concerns, computers should be removed from the floor and placed on higher surfaces. Important records such as leasing files or other documents stored in low drawers should also be moved to higher spots.
The property itself must also be protected. While newer Florida buildings boast impact-resistant glass and shutter systems, thanks to Hurricane Andrew-influenced building codes, older structures must rely on plywood sheets to protect their windows and doors. (Schiff also suggests covering balconies with netting to prevent debris from hitting windows and breaking the glass.) Multifamily buildings "tend to do well structurally in a hurricane, but many have problems with the building envelope," says Schiff. "It's the windows and doors that fail."
That's especially a problem with the sliding glass doors often used in apartment structures. High winds can exert enough pressure to simply pop the door out from the track, exposing the apartment to rain and water damage. Deeper tracks for those sliding doors can help. How deep? "As a colleague of mine says, 'If you don't trip across the track walking in the door, it's not a high-wind track,'" says Schiff.
The other big hot spot? Roofs, which can be ripped off by the force of a hurricane. These winds can also eventually pressurize the building, which increases the chance of a roof failure. "It's the connections, the connections, the connections," stresses David Prevatt, director of Clemson's wind load test facility, who says multifamily builders in high-wind areas must ensure that the roof, sheathing, trusses, walls, and floors are all securely attached during construction.
(Decorative elements can also suffer. Prevatt, who traveled to Florida after Charley and Frances, saw coastal buildings that had lost roof-level parapets in the high winds.)
A compromised roof creates a host of other problems for property owners and managers. "The problem with hurricanes is that they come and do damage, and then they bring rain," says Dave Garden, director of corporate programs at Disaster Kleenup International, a Chicago-based network of property restoration firms. "If you don't clean it up [and dry the interiors out], you start getting into a mold problem."
That's a potential worry for properties that survived first Charley, and then Frances. "Charley caused wind damage. There was more destruction," says Garden, who went to Florida to assess the damage. "With Frances, we saw a lot more water damage, because Frances hung out so long."
It makes for a costly catastrophe. "We don't lose that many lives in a hurricane," Schiff says, "but we end up with billions of dollars in property damage." He's not exaggerating. While no estimates were available for Frances at press time, Charley's bill had already climbed to roughly $7 billion in damage, according to news and insurance reports.
Back to Business In some ways, dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane can be just as challenging as preparing for the storm.
Property managers returning to an apartment community after a hurricane have to be prepared for anything: battered buildings, downed power lines, water and sewage problems, even alligators in the apartments or the community's pool.
That's why many multifamily companies don't allow residents to enter the property until the buildings have been cleared for occupancy. "We need to make sure it's safe to live in," says Martin. Once that's established, CALEX allows residents in and keeps looters out by requiring proof of residence–a utility bill, for example, since people don't always have their current address on their driver's license. (The company reminds tenants to take such a document with them when they evacuate.)
Still, repairing the damage and cleaning up the debris will take days, if not weeks, a situation that demands patience from tenants and on-site staff. "When the storm's done," Martin says, "we remind people to go back and take care of residents, because they need that comfort, too."
Coastal Costs
The bills were still coming at press time for hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan, but the tally is already in the billions of dollars. (Early reports suggested that Charley alone caused roughly $7 billion in damage.) Here are five of the most costly hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland.
1. Andrew (1992) $26.5 billion2. Hugo (1989) $7.0 billion3. Floyd (1999) $4.5 billion4. Isabel (2003) $4.0 billion5. Fran (1996) $3.2 billion
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Dollars have not been adjusted for inflation.)
Hurricane Help Want more information on protecting your people, properties, and company from hurricanes? These government agencies, associations, and companies offer tipsheets and more:
Federal Emergency Management Agency: www.fema.gov/hazards/hurricanes
The Insurance Institute of America: www.iii.org/media/updates/press.737830
Marsh Risk Consulting: www.marshriskconsulting.com