Hurricane season is kicking up early this year as damaging storms, such as Hurricane Dennis, are already brewing in the Caribbean. Shop owners are encouraged to plan ahead to prepare their businesses for onslaughts from these or other disasters. In 2004, Florida was hit by four hurricanes, with two of them roaring through West Palm Beach.
“I lost my awnings and part of my roof,” reports Tony Gianninoto, co-owner with his wife of Southside Auto Body, Inc. on Southern Boulevard. The facility is equipped with anchors spaced two-and-a-half feet apart, sturdily securing it to the foundation. The windows have “explosion-proof glass” and the roof has been reinforced, although it nonetheless suffered significant wind damage last year.
“It lifted up the roof, and the rain and wind was able to get up under there. That was a pain,” Gianninoto says. Southside was out of action for about eight days as the storms raged, mainly due to sustained power outages. “The cell phones stayed up” throughout the duration, and “we kept in touch with the guys in the shop” to assure that everyone was safe and well.
But as painful as the storms were, the bright skies that followed weren’t simply weather related. Numerous vehicles required extensive repairs after being tossed about like toys or inundated by floodwaters. “We did really well,” he notes. “After the hurricane it was full-blast. We went steady for almost eight months — as much as we could do. We did 10-hour days and still couldn’t keep up.”
According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, never in recorded history has there been this many named storms spawned so early in the season, which lasts June through November. Tropical Storm Cindy drenched Louisiana and Alabama in early July with 10 inches of rain whipped by 70 mph winds, washing away piers and leaving 250,000 people without electricity. A single Mississippi county experienced 34 road closures. Hurricane Dennis appears to be even more menacing.
Advance planning can be critical for saving your business from potential calamities, according to Jason Smart, project engineer at the Institute for Business and Home Safety. The IBHS is a national nonprofit initiative of the insurance industry aimed at reducing deaths, injuries, property damage, economic losses and human suffering caused by natural disasters. A booklet entitled Open For Business that details before, during and after disaster planning strategies is available free from the organization’s Internet site at www.ibhs.org.
“You should do your planning before hurricane season starts,” Smart suggests, pointing out that a repair facility’s most vulnerable spot is likely to be the bay doors — the largest and weakest part of shop construction.
In a phenomenon known as “negative pressure,” a vacuum is created on the roof when a garage door is sucked in or blown out by the wind. Much like blowing up a balloon, this pressure can be powerful enough to lift up the roof or knock down the structure’s supporting walls.
Newer doors come with a “DP rating” listed on the lower inside panel. These “design pressure” designations should give you an indication of your door’s sturdiness. Older doors will not have this, and they should be inspected by a professional and properly fortified if needed.
“If it doesn’t have a DP label on it you can be pretty sure it wasn’t designed to withstand a hurricane,” Smart says. Wind resistance and impact resistance are the key elements that keep a bay door intact. You can buy a garage door bracing kit at building supply retailers. The lower-priced versions render the door inoperable when put into place.
“Make sure you know how to install those bracing kits in advance,” Smart warns. “Once you get the retrofit kit a drill should be done to make sure the owner knows how to install it.”
Much like pitching a new tent in your backyard prior to the weekend camping trip, assembling the bracing kit ahead of time will ensure that all the pieces and parts are present and functional. “You don’t want to wait until a couple of days before the storm to start working on it.”
Once the winds start howling, it is likely too late to go shopping for door hardware, he cautions.
Kits that strengthen a bay door while allowing it to remain operable are more expensive, and they can be dangerous if not properly installed. “Get a professional to do it for you,” Smart urges. If something goes awry, the large springs can be sent rocketing across the shop floor. “It can take off a finger or kill you if it recoils,” he says.
Door-operable strengthening kits “will increase the weight of the door, so you’ll have to adjust the spring so the door is balanced properly.”
If you have any doubts about your structure’s ability to remain intact, it is best to seek consultation from a building engineer, according to Smart, as this assessment can be complicated for someone without the appropriate background.
If a weaker metal building is buffeted by beyond-the-limit winds, “typically the roof will come off,” Smart points out. “Rarely do you see the entire building removed from the site; you’ll have damage to the roof and siding, but the frame will stay put.”
Surviving a hurricane
Every year between June and November an average of 10 tropical storms develops over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. Six will become hurricanes. During 2004, there were six named hurricanes to landfall in the United States, three of which were a category three or higher.
This hurricane season protect your business by implementing a comprehensive emergency plan.
“Studies show that implementing a comprehensive emergency plan for hurricanes may significantly reduce direct and indirect damage to businesses,” says Jeff Lubberts, director of major loss, Universal Underwriters Insurance Company. “Effectively planning actions steps, which address conditions before, during and after the storm, allows you to protect your business and employees in the event of a hurricane.”
Universal Underwriters offers the following tips for preparing for and surviving a hurricane:
Address personal safety — Stock your business with first aid kits, extra medicine, canned foods, a manual can opener, batteries, flashlights, matches and one gallon of water per person, per day. By ensuring your employees’ personal needs are met you will be able to concentrate on issues affecting your business.
Create a hurricane chest — Create a hurricane chest for each of your company’s buildings and inform all employees of the chests’ locations. Hurricane chests should include:
• A business recovery plan outlining roles and responsibilities for business recovery
• A business recovery team list
• Emergency services contact list
• Emergency communications equipment
• Multiple roles of plastic bags, labels, tape and markers to collect and store important business documents
• Rolls of yellow and orange hazard tape
• New padlocks and key sets
• Pre-paid and non-activated phone cards
Unplug all electrical equipment — When a hurricane warning is announced unplug everything including terminals, phones, computers, copy and fax machines, coffee makers and refrigerators.
Secure your office — Looting is a major problem both before and after major storms. Secure your area prior to the storm by placing important paper work, checks and cash in safes or locked drawers. Completing a receipt log for all checks and cash and receiving a signature verifying this amount is also advisable.
Document damage — After an “all clear” is given, take video and photos of any damage that occurred during the storm to insure proof of loss for the insurance company.
“Hurricanes put people, property and business at risk and can result in significant financial losses,” says Lubberts, “but with proper planning you can pave the way to a more successful recovery.”
