|
|
|
HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS FOR ASSOCIATIONS
July 1, 1999
Is your association prepared for the hurricane season?
Will the residents be safe? Are association assets
protected? Is there a disaster plan in place? If you said
no to any of these questions, then this article will help
assist your Board of Directors in preparing an emergency
plan for your association and its residents.
To this end, the association’s leaders should appoint a
committee to help prepare an emergency plan. This committee
will identify what hazards are involved for the community,
what the emergency needs of the association are and devise
an association disaster plan and a post-disaster recovery
plan.
Planning for a disaster in hurricane prone South Florida is
a smart move for any Board of Directors, as the association
exists in order to operate for the health, safety, comfort
and welfare of its residents.
HAZARD ANALYSIS
Hazards for each association will vary from location to
location. Wind and tidal surges will affect communities
located near low-lying coastal areas. Communities located
inland may be affected by wind and flooding caused by heavy
rains. The committee needs to identify potential hazards,
their probability of occurring, and the association’s
vulnerability to the hazard. Identification of potential
obstacles for site evacuation should also be made. The
committee should also determine (through experts, such as
structural engineers, contractors and insurance experts)
what the impact is on any structures, that exist in the
association, and whether or not they would withstand the
impact of a hurricane.
Some disaster experts believe that planning and
implementation of a preparedness program should be based on
historical hazards.
PLEASE NOTE: The absence of recent hurricane activity in
South Florida is not a predictor of future hurricane
activity. Therefore, it is wise for the association to
plan for, educate their residents and implement a hurricane
preparedness program every year!
This analysis would also entail setting work schedules,
planning deadlines, and setting timelines for completion of
tasks.
EMERGENCY NEEDS
After identifying potential hazards, what their impact
could be on the association’s residents and any special
problems that this could cause to the association, the
committee then is able to begin preparing a preparedness
and response document. Types of questions that need to be
answered are: Will the association residents need to be
evacuated? Will the association property be used as a
shelter? Are there any residents who will need special
assistance due to age or health problems? Are evacuation
routes easily flooded? Where is the nearest public shelter
to the association and are the residents aware of this?
What would be the effect of a power outage on evacuation
and communications? Is there emergency power available to
the residents? Overall, the questions and answers to your
emergency needs will let you know what to expect, indicate
what preventative measures should be taken, create an
awareness and identify what type of help the association
may need.
ASSOCIATION DISASTER PLAN
The individuals who will be involved in the hurricane
emergency are also the ones involved in the planning for
that response. A committee to help in the planning might be
the following: Board Members, Block Captains, Floor
Representatives, Local Emergency Management Officials,
Fire/Rescue, Insurance Agent, Law Enforcement Officials,
Utility Officials, Management Representative and Health
Department Representatives.
The committee will then decide the appropriate plan based
on their findings and the disaster needs of the
association.
The committee should develop and always be in possession of
an up-to-date Resource List, which would include a
telephone roster of management and maintenance personnel,
sub-contractors, emergency service providers, Board
Members, unit owners/residents. The Resource List would
also include association owned supplies, the location and
account numbers of all bank accounts, copies of all
contracts and copies of insurance policies.
The committee will also develop a hurricane action guide in
order for the committee, the association’s paid
professionals and the residents to follow, and may specify
the following: Prior to each hurricane season educating and
implementing an awareness program, rehearsing an evacuation
plan for the residents, the storage and protection of
association assets, disposition of residents’ cars/boats,
checking emergency power and supplies and monitoring of
weather and local emergency news.
NOTE: This type of guideline and preparedness can also be
developed for other potential emergencies such as fires,
floods, chemical hazards which can strike an association at
any time!
The committee will then develop a coordination plan, which
outlines the responsibilities of each individual or group
involved under the different stages of the hurricane
emergency. The plan will be based on the association’s
potential hazards, the overall resources of the
association, and the overall attitudes of the association’s
members. This plan will take the association through the
actual hurricane emergency to the post-disaster recovery.
POST-DISASTER RECOVERY
A rapid recovery following a disaster will be based on the
overall pre-disaster planning and on local, state, and
federal government resources. The association should plan
for as many contingencies as possible and have procedures
in place to deal with them, as government relief
organizations may be overwhelmed and ineffective. The
following may be a list of disaster recovery issues that
should be planned for:
1. Account for all residents, where are they located now?
Did they leave and stay elsewhere? Were residents
evacuated? Are any residents injured? Do any residents
need shelter, medical or other assistance? Overall, all
residents should be accounted for to report to local
emergency offices. Try to designate one person to handle
this task.
2. Are there adequate association reserves for handling
emergencies? Funds may be needed to fund the difference
between insurance coverage and deductible amounts. 5% to
20% deductibles are now the norm on windstorm coverage.
Are there funds designated to handle other deductibles and
gaps in insurance coverage? Get your agent and other
people who are experts in this field involved.
NOTE: It is also wise for unit owners to have their
insurance policies reviewed against the association’s
coverage, as there will be gaps. Owners may want to have
loss assessment coverage, water seepage coverage and
clauses added to include upgrades.
Most association documents require that an insurance
trustee be named prior to the insurance carrier dispersing
funds. This is a third party designated by the association.
In order not to cause delays in receiving insurance funds,
have this provision satisfied well in advance of any
emergency. Does the association have flood insurance,
whether it is required or not? In many areas flooding may
be the cause of most damage. Have the unit owners been
advised that they are able to secure their own individual
flood policies to cover interior damage?
Make sure that the association will have access to all
units for evaluation and possible repair of the structure
and all common elements. Without proper and quick access
to units, any insurance settlement may be delayed.
Survey the association property and determine the needs on
a priority basis. This may include anything from providing
security guards to protect the association property from
vandals to possibly evacuating the building for safety and
security reasons.
Have all association vendors, sub-contractors and
professionals ready and available prior to the hurricane in
order to act as quickly as possible after the fact. Have
contingency plans made to help with communications. Cell
phones will be used extensively and will probably be up and
working before regular phone service. Depending on the
extent of the damages, it may be necessary to cancel
certain service contracts. Make sure that the contracts
can be suspended without cost to the association in case of
a disaster.
Have a reconstruction committee in place or a designated
person or professional who will oversee the repair or
reconstruction of association property. This person should
be an expert in bidding, construction and project
completion.
Make sure that the full extent of the association’s damages
and costs are known before entertaining any settlement from
the association’s insurance carriers prior to proceeding
with any repairs or reconstruction.
Overall, always keep your unit owners apprised of the
status of your recovery, as this is an extremely stressful
time for all.
Special Thanks to the Florida Department of Community
Affairs, Division of Emergency Management, Community
Associations Institute and the American Red Cross for
providing ideas and sources for this article.
Copyright 2007© Associated Property Management of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
|
|
