Disaster Recovery News

Spring officially starts in less than a month, but you wouldn’t know from by looking at the weather across the U.S. and reading predicted forecasts.

Northwest

Snow is falling over parts of the Northwest and northern Rockies that generally do not see snow this late in the winter season. For example, the forecast predicts up to four inches of snowfall in the Seattle, WA and Portland, OR area. Residents in the Northwest are going to have to put off their spring-cleaning for another day and, in the mean time, make sure their plumbing is insulated well to prevent burst pipes and water damage.

South

As the South battles wildfires with their neighboring Eastern states, The Weather Channel predicts a severe storm outbreak in the Dixie Valley—parts of the Southern Plains, Lower Mississippi Valley and Tennessee Valley. Meteorologist Dr. Greg Forbes expects the storms to begin as early as Thursday. Residents in this area can expect to see floods, large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes.

Those living in this area should prepare emergency disaster kits that contain the phone numbers of their insurance agents and a restoration specialist. Residents should also be ready to evacuate their homes if directed by emergency personnel.

East

Not getting any breaks from Mother Nature, the Eastern states continue to battle wildfires. Residents are on alert in many communities, and are prepared to evacuate their homes. The low humidity and winds continue to fuel the fires, and this is not expected to change in the immediate future. Like those in the South, residents who are a wildfire should prepare an emergency disaster kit. Learn how to prepare for fire damage.

More on the nation’s weather.

Learn about disaster recovery.

Only days after a burst pipe flooded the Old City Hall building in Tacoma, WA with over 30,000 gallons of water, a neighboring historic downtown building on Pacific Avenue suffered the same fate. The building is home to United Way of Pierce County offices.

The sprinkler system pipe burst on Thanksgiving night in the 120-year-old building’s fourth floor. While most of the damage was contained to the fourth floor, there was also water damage to the electrical panels of the elevators and the perimeter sheetrock. As soon as the disaster was discovered, professionals were called in to remediate the water damage. They first eliminated the standing water in the building, removed water-damaged materials such as wet documents and set up dehumidifiers and large fans. As a final touch, the flood remediation company forced hot air through the building to help it fully dry.

To prevent mold damage, the United Way offices moved quickly to dry the flood damaged building and its content. “The News Tribune” reports, “…Emergency mitigation goes a long way toward preventing mold… ‘The biggest concern always is mold…Twenty-four to 48 hours is usually the window of time that you need to have emergency mitigation. After that is when you have the potential for mold.’”

During the flood cleanup, United Way employees worked from a remote location. Fortunately, thanks to emergency disaster planning, none of the nonprofit’s services were disrupted.

Learn how your business can plan for a disaster today.

[graphic: United Way]

Photo by joka2000

Denver received almost a foot of snow this weekend in a very short amount of time. The Front Range and east plains also did not get left out. USA Today reported the snow was deep enough for some of the airlines at Denver International Airport to have cancelled flights.

The National Weather Service had issued snow advisories in the affected area, but cancelled their warnings after the snow had stopped falling in the Denver area.

Areas of Colorado’s eastern plains also had snow warnings, but they were not cancelled as they had strong winds that made visibility impossible at times. Hundreds of people were called from the Colorado Department of Transportation to help get the roads cleaned-up across the areas affected.

Knowing that sudden cold weather can unexpectedly hit, home and business owners should make it a priority to winterize their buildings and homes. One of the most important things to focus on is making sure pipes do not freeze and burst, which can cause flooding. With the holidays coming up quickly, there are many other things one would rather deal with than a flooded home or office.