An accidental grease fire in the former courthouse and First National Bank in Cadiz, OH on May 6, 2011 left a historical building in ruins, four tenants homeless and a store out of business. Today, owners Tom and Vicki Cole report that they want to restore the building in spite of the fire damage.
Official suspect the eight-alarm fire started when a tenant in the building left potatoes frying on her stovetop and walked away to chat with a neighbor. Firefighters used over 100,000 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze, which caused extensive water damageto the second and third stories of the building. Additionally, a gap in the roof left by the fire allowed rain to pour in and add to the excessive moisture already in the historic building, causing mold damage.
Wanting to preserve the town’s historical connection to the old courthouse, the Coles plan to shrink-wrap the building to protect it from further water damage. Tom Cole states the shrink-wrap material is made out of a polyurethane material that professionals will stretch over the entire roof after crews place boards over the windows. After wrapping the roof, the Coles will work on clearing the burned debris and restoring the burned building even though they are not sure how they will use it, as they did not have a business continuity plan in place.
The Associate Press reports that the last month of twisters has already made 2011 the deadliest year regarding tornadoes in over five decades. What may be even more disturbing is that the tornado-affected areas have the highest rate of homes without homeowner’s insurance. Consequently, some of the families who need the most insurance-related assistance do not have it and will have a harder time recouping their losses. While the federal government is able to offer some assistance, the law limits the amount of assistance it can provide to $30,300 per household.
The Most Hazard-Prone
The federal government mandates the purchase of flood insurance in specific zones, but homeowner’s insurance is not. So far, the tornadoes have cost the lives of over 450 individuals and over a billion dollars in damage. The state of Mississippi has the second largest percentage of homes in the U.S. to not carry homeowner’s insurance that covers wind damage and is one of the top five states to have the most tornadoes touch the land in the last five years. Arkansas has the fourth largest percentage of uninsured homes in the U.S. and is number 10 in the list of states that are most tornado-prone. Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma are among the top 10 states to have the most tornadoes in the country, and have a high percentage of uninsured homes.
Not Insuring a Home ≠ Money Savings
The reason so many homes in the tornado-torn areas of the U.S. do not have homeowner’s insurance is because the owners no longer have a mortgage, so the banks do not require such coverage. When an individual owns a home and no longer has to make mortgage payments, the decision to purchase homeowners insurance is strictly personal. The AP report associates much of the lack of insurance on the high cost to insure older homes and the higher poverty levels. However, as many homeowners found out, going without homeowner’s insurance will not necessarily save you money in the future.
More than 100,000 households and individuals who are victims of the recent tornadoes are waiting to receive FEMA disaster assistance in order to have access to basic needs, temporary shelter and financial assistance for home repairs. A homeowner’s insurance policy helps provide the funds for hotel costs, meals, property replacement, to rebuild a home and general recovery from a storm. Insurance is a matter of risk, and the question begs: Is it worth foregoing the purchase of insurance in order to save money in the present? The decision is strictly personal.
After the recent swarm of devastating tornadoes, residents in Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri must prepare for the continuing prediction of storms. The latest tornado to hit the U.S. left 117 known victims in its wake; it is the deadliest tornado in over 60 years. MSNBC reports that about 1,500 are still missing after the recent storm.
Preparing for a Storm
Experts cannot predict the exact time a tornado will hit. Therefore, it is important for you, your family and business to have an emergency plan that you can implement at a moment’s notice. When creating your emergency disaster plan, include the following:
Know what to do if your family is not together when a storm hits. Include a meet-up spot and instructions for different scenarios. For example, think about what you should do if the kids are at school, a friend’s house or the mall, if you are at work or are out running errands. Each family member should have a list of important phone numbers written down that each person keeps in a wallet or backpack.
Know the safest location in your house in the event of a tornado warning. Keep a battery-operated radio, flashlight, whistles, safety goggles, first aid kit and your emergency disaster kit near this location. You should have enough whistles for each family member to use to call for help if any get caught under debris.
Make an emergency disaster kit that includes water, food, medications, important documents, phone numbers, batteries, blankets, disposable camera, first aid kit, cash and pet supplies (if needed). Use this kit in the event that you cannot live in your home after a storm or you need to evacuate.
If you are a business owner, create a tornado emergency plan and make sure your employees know what to do in the event of a storm. Designate an area of your business as a “safe” area for employees to wait-out a storm and include a battery-operated radio, flashlight, whistles, safety goggles, first aid kit, emergency contact numbers, important documents and the company emergency procedures manual at this location.
Create a plan to recover. Worry about your possessions well before a storm hits or after, but do not risk your life to protect your belongings during a tornado warning. Keep photo negatives and copies of important documents in a safe location away from your home or business, like a bank’s safety deposit box. If you have not done this and a storm hits, remember that you can restore wet documents and damaged photographs with the help of a disaster recovery company.
In response to the recent tornadoes and floods, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering U.S. Department of Treasury disaster loans to small business owners affected by the natural disasters. Financial assistance is available to those who are located in an area President Obama has issued a natural disaster declaration.
SBA loans differ from the financial assistance FEMA offers. While FEMA offers financial assistance to residents, which they do not have to repay, the SBA only offers loans that borrowers must repay. These loans, however, are offered with low interest rates. Renters, homeowners and non-profit organizations can also apply for loans through the SBA. Homeowners can borrow up to $200,000, while business owners can borrow a maximum of $2,000,000.
The purpose of the SBA disaster loans is to help ensure businesscontinuity by assisting business owners with the costs associated with flood remediation, the process of restoring wet documents and building repairs. To receive a disaster loan, you must first file a claim with FEMA, which you can do online at www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). After filing a claim, FEMA will mail you a recovery package that contains an SBA application.
When you apply for an SBA loan, the lender does not consider your credit score. Instead, the lender bases its decision on your circumstances, need and ability to repay the loan amount requested. When filing a disaster claim, you will need you Social Security number, the address of the building in need of storm damage restoration, your current address, a current telephone number, insurance information, information regarding your income and a description of your losses.
If you own a business, you know the importance of preparedness. You prepare for client meetings, taxes, presentations and so on. One of the hardest things to prepare for, however, is a disaster. It is easy to put disaster preparedness at the back of your mind, especially if a disaster is not happening presently. According to a survey the Red Cross conducted in 2009, 89 percent of those surveyed felt it is necessary to be prepared for a disaster, but only 12 percent had an emergency disaster plan in place. Just as your prepare a budget and ways to save money, preparing for a disaster can save your business thousands of dollars and assist with business continuity.
The Ready Rating™ Program from the American Red Cross is a free, online program that can help you prepare for different disasters scenarios that can affect your business, from floods to fires to illnesses. When you sign up for the program, you learn about how prepared your business truly is to handle any emergency. After completing the readiness survey, you receive feedback regarding how to improve your business disaster planning efforts. Even if you have created a business disaster plan, you can still benefit from the Rating Ready™ Program because you may learn of ways to better prepare your employees or learn about consideration you did not think about when you made your plan.
