Hurricane Harvey should have reminded owners and managers in New York of Sandy, and the need to prepare for the next disaster. But to refresh your memory, here are some tips for rain, wind, and snow you might want to save for reference. We’ve borrowed them from Zurich Insurance and New York, Louisiana, and Houston apartment managers.
In General
- Take forecasts seriously.
- Give residents an emergency preparation plan. Remind them to get renters and flood insurance to protect their personal belongings. The property’s insurance doesn’t cover their stuff. Also ask residents to clear their patios of furniture or other potential projectiles and bring in window air conditioners.
- Stockpile necessities. You can never have enough food, drinking water, batteries, and battery-powered devices.
- Make sure you have your residents’ emergency contact information.
- Keep your residents informed. Building websites, hosted offsite, and email were the only ways to reach many tenants after Sandy cut phone service.
We can’t emphasize this enough—communicating with residents was one of the most important things owners and managers could do during Sandy. Most of the dramatic headlines that made the papers and television involved buildings where tenants couldn’t reach owners or hadn’t heard from them. Make sure you have redundant systems to reach your building’s email lists and important electronic records. Another thing we learned from Sandy was that a backup at home on Long Island or New Jersey was not necessarily safe from a storm in Brooklyn. Secure your information in another region. And when all else fails, post notices in the lobby. Showing up is half the battle.
Ground Snow Removal
- Verify that snow removal personnel are not pushing snow up against roof drain outlets. Snow should be cleared from around the outlets so that water can easily escape.
- Verify that your fire protection equipment, hydrants, control valves, and your fire pump room remain accessible. Snow should be removed from around this equipment, which may require some hand shoveling.
- All doorways should be accessible and snow removed to allow egress. This is especially important for emergency exits.
Roof Snow Removal
- Roof drains should be inspected to ensure that they are clear of snow and ice. An area around each drain should be cleared to allow water to reach the drain. Remember, your roof covering can be easily damaged, so plastic shovels should be utilized. The use of calcium chloride is an effective way of keeping ice from accumulating in your drains.
High Winds
- Check the roof for loose flashing. If the flashing is found to be loose, it should be secured with #8 (minimum) corrosion resistant screws long enough to adequately engage the wood nailer. The screw should have a large pan head or a washer should be used.
- Check for loose rooftop equipment. Rooftop equipment may also include satellite dishes, electrical conduit, lightning protection, and piping systems. Secure or remove any equipment that is loose and may be dislodged in high winds.
- Remove any debris from the roof.
- Remove any ground level trash, debris, seasonal equipment, or other items that can become projectiles in high winds.
- Continue to monitor the exterior of the building to ensure no glass gets broken. Broken glass can lead to localized freezing of water based systems. Any damage to the building envelope should be temporarily sealed until more permanent repairs can be made.
Power Outages
- Make sure emergency power equipment is operational and that fuel tanks are full.
- Any small portable generators you rely on should be tested and fuel tanks should be full. These should only be used in a safe, well ventilated area.
- If your building’s heat is lost due to a power failure, building temperatures should be monitored. If temperatures fall below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, safeguards should be taken to protect water-based systems against freezing.
Dan Margulies, Executive Director
Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York
5 Hanover Square, Suite 1605
212-385-4949
associatedbuilders@abogny.com
www.abogny.com
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