Disaster Recovery News

Miller Park flooded on June 19, 2009, causing water to spill into the stadium of the Milwaukee Brewers. The total dollar-amount of the losses is still being calculated. The lower level of the stadium became flooded after 6-feet of water accumulated on Miller Park Way during a storm.

Property damage to the stadium includes the areas of the concessionaires, property belonging to their custodial service, Johnson Controls, and the district. Almost 7,000 bobble-head dolls that were to be given away at Sunday’s game were all damaged. Fans will have to get this souvenir later, using a voucher that will be given away instead. Food items, paper products, and the electrical equipment were all affected by the rushing waters. While the food and paper products will have to be replaced, the electrical equipment has dried out and is in working condition. However, it is feared that the life of the equipment has been shortened because of premature rusting and wear-and-tear.

JSOnline reports that other items damaged within the lower level of the stadium include the drywall, carpeting, and two clubhouses.  All of these items will have to be replaced to prevent mold damage.

Learn about what businesses should do after a storm.

The people of Wethersfield, Connecticut braced themselves as winds ripped through their town at speeds of up to 100 mph on Friday. If any of the residents suspected a tornado must have passed through the town, they would have been right.

As a result of the strong storm, officials of Hartford County opened up shelters to help those displaced. The tornado toppled trees into houses and roads and caused devastation the people of the town would have never expected. Most people lost power for most of the day-not the ideal way for one to start the weekend. Many people throughout the county are still without power today, but it will hopefully be restored by the end of Sunday.

The debris and fallen trees caused damage to numerous homes. If these homes are not repaired quickly and correctly, they could see damages that extend past what just the trees did. Vulnerable areas of a home are more at risk to be affected by water and mold damage in the future.

Read the full story here.

Shingles on a roof that are torn or blown-off after a storm can allow water to seep through. If the water does not properly dry or there is a lot of moisture in the affected area, the roof’s integrity could be compromised. The damage could even extend to ceilings within a building, causing them to collapse.

More on preventing mold damage.

Flint, Michigan has an epidemic of empty foreclosed homes that are in line to be demolished in October. One home that was unlike the others with this fate had one difference: someone was living in it.

The Washington Post raised this question: “If a fire destroys a home that doesn’t really belong to anyone and is worth next to nothing, does it matter?”

It is estimated that 25% of vacant homes are intentionally set on fire. What is the way to prevent fires in vacant homes according to the NFPA? Prevent the vacancy of the homes by having homeowners in them.

Currently, if a home is foreclosed, it may be occupied by the homeless, drug dealers, or those looking to congregate. It is reported that most of the home fires started in vacant homes are caused by vandals or unsheltered individuals looking to stay warm and fed.

When firefighters began to find people in the so-called vacant homes, they began to wonder what was going on-they thought no one was inside. They then began to anticipate finding dwellers within vacant homes they responded to and began to assess the fires and how they should be fought.

More on this story.

Learn how specialists can help restore a home after a fire.

Close to 300 homes in the Milwaukee, WI area on Friday afternoon had an unwanted visitor seep in to basements: backed-up sewage. The culprit is the overwhelmed municipal sewer system.

Residents, yet again, have to clean up foul-smelling mess that consisted of storm water and waste. The Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office also has to deal with the stink.

Residents report they have had problems with sewer back-ups in their homes since 2007, when new pipes were installed, and this year has been the worst. A resident says there waste was shooting out of his toilet as if it was a fountain that was supposed to shoot out murky water.

JS Online reports: “The massive amount of water seeped through cracks in the sewer laterals and main pipes, then flowed back into homes, often combining with sewer water. Any blockage in the laterals from homes to the main pipes compounded the problem.”

Some have received up to three feet of water at once since the time this problem began. Many have lost astonishing amounts of personal property that includes water heaters, furnaces, and other appliances that are typically kept on lower levels of a home.

More on this story.

Read how restoration specialists can help with this kind of mess and remediate damages caused by the foul waters.

Pacific Community Services, Inc. suffered the damages of a costly two-alarm fire that began this morning. Investigators are estimating the damages will total about $1-million.

Pacific Community Services, Inc., located in Pittsburg, is a nonprofit organization that served the Contra Costa and Solano Counties by providing assistance with fair housing counseling and enforcement. The staff worked on their clients’ behalves to help enforce compliance, settle disputes, and provide referrals to essential services.

The fire began a little after midnight and firefighters were able to contain the blaze in the 7,500-square-foot building by 3:43 am, according to Mercury News. Although the cause of the fire is not yet known, it is estimated the agency has about $100,000 worth of property damage within the building. No one was injured during this incident.

Pacific Community Services, Inc. has not stated on their website if the Pittsburg location will conduct business from their Fairfield office during the restoration process.

Fires, when they hit a business, do not only affect those that work for the company. As one can see from this story, the many people this office served will now be affected, especially if the client files were not backed-up. Clients in need may now have to wait longer for services they needed yesterday. Business continuity in the shortest amount of time possible will be essential in this situation.

Learn how businesses can recover documents after a fire.

Also read how business continuity can be sped up during the recovery process.