Disaster Safety Blog

St. Louis still recovering from hurricane-related damage

Hurricane Ike's drenching of the St. Louis area on Sept. 14 has resulted in a number of insurance claims related to sewer backups.

President George W. Bush recently declared affected residents in St. Louis and 15 Missouri counties, including St. Louis, St. Charles and Lincoln, eligible for disaster assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has since opened offices in the state to assist residents.

The St. Louis County Emergency Management Agency says 2,600 housing units were affected by flooding related to Hurricane Ike. University City alone had to condemn 300 units, about 25 of which remain uninhabitable.  The city continues to seek permanent buyouts for some properties on Wilson Avenue along the River des Peres.

In St. Louis, about 600 dwelling units were affected. Hardest hit was the Baden area.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District received 7,300 complaints about flooding or basement backups. As of today, the agency has approved 2,400 households for sewer backup insurance and rejected another 2,600 that were damaged by other flooding factors.

The sewer district provides as much as $2,500 for verified sewer backups. Ike has accounted for 25 percent of all backup-insurance claims since the program was created in 1999.

The Institute for Business & Home Safety offers projects, such as installing a sewer backflow valve, to help minimize the risk of damage due to water intrusion.

Task force will focus on Texas recovery, preparedness

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is creating a task force to recommend ways to improve the state's response to and recovery from natural disasters, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The preliminary damage estimate from Ike and Hurricanes Gustav and Dolly, which struck Texas within a period of two months this summer, totals $29.4 billion and is likely to grow, the governor's office said Wednesday.

Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels will chair the governor's 31-member Commission for Disaster Recovery and Renewal, which Perry is creating by executive order to prepare a long-range plan for dealing with similar, future disasters.

"This is looking at how we can build a blueprint, so we are not rewriting the wheel after each disaster," said Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle.the governor also will ask the task force to develop additional, short-term housing options, Castle said.

Perry plans to appoint representatives of the business community and foundations as well as governmental officials to the commission. The county judge of each coastal county will be a non-voting, ex officio member.

Catch up on what you missed at this year's IBHS annual conference

Another successful IBHS Annual Conference on Property Loss Reduction is behind us, but there is still a chance to take advantage of the valuable information presented by speakers such as Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Check out news coverage of Sink's presentation that included information about the state of the My Safe Florida Home program.

Many of the conference PowerPoint presentations have been posted, including one from California State Fire Marshal Kate Dargan, who delivered Thursday's keynote address. Presentations from the workshops also are available.

Thank you to the participants who joined us in Tampa, Fla., for the conference. We look forward to seeing you next year.

Time is running out for business recovery funds in Louisiana

In just a matter of weeks, federal disaster aid approved in the wake of hurricanes Gustav and Ike may no longer be available to businesses in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes due to a lack of interest and looming deadlines, the Daily Comet reports.

When President George W. Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act into law in October, its primary beneficiary was the financial industry, thanks to a $700 billion bailout provision. But the legislation also included roughly $380 million in tax-free loans for Louisiana businesses that suffered losses during Hurricane Ike.

The tax-exempt bond financing has been extended through 2010, but state officials say few, if any, businesses took advantage of the program. The state Bond Commission will meet this week to investigate, but primary hurdles have already been identified.

Measuring the true costs of Hurricane Ike

When Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston County, Texas, in September it inflicted $710 million in damage to buildings owned and operated by the University of Texas Medical Branch. The community has been struggling to recover from the storm damage for two months, but the economic fallout is just beginning to emerge.

On Tuesday, the UT Board of Regents announced 600 UTMB employes will be laid off every day for five days, reducing the 12,000 work force by 3,000 jobs. The Board authorized the layoffs last week to compensate for Ike-related damage and revenue losses.

John Sealy Hospital, the medical school's main source of income, is temporarily closed while the school must meet a $40 million payroll each month. The school expects to save $20 million per month from the layoffs.

UT system officials have been in talks with federal and state officials since the storm. A special team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency assessed damages at UTMB. No official announcement has been made about FEMA's reimbursement levels to the school.

The layoffs are a severe financial blow to Galveston County and the city of Galveston, already suffering economically because of the damage caused by the storm. UTMB was the city's largest employer.

Keeping communities intact after a disaster requires preparation before the storm. IBHS has a variety of business continuity, crisis management and property protection resources available to help residents prepare and businesses recover quickly if they are forced to close. The situation in Texas is similar to what was experienced in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Every community in hurricane-prone states should learn from these devastating examples and take steps today to become better prepared to survive such a storm.  

Beware roofs overloaded by heavy snow

At least two feet of snow had fallen in parts of New York by Monday evening and the weather system responsible is expected to bring similar conditions to Indiana, Michigan and Ohio later today.

The National Weather Service said 24 inches of snow had fallen at Constableville, at the east end of Lake Ontario on the Tug Hill Plateau, by late Monday. In western New York, moisture from Lake Erie had turned into 23 inches of snow by midmorning at Ellicottville, south of Buffalo. In northwest Pennsylvania, Erie reported as much as 14 inches of snow Monday morning.

It wasn't the first snowstorm this season in the Northeast. In late October, a storm spread just over a foot of snow over parts of northern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains and New York's Catskill Mountains, and heavy snow also fell at higher elevations of northern New England.

A heavy snowfall brings with it the danger of roof collapses, which was the case in parts of New England and Wisconsin last winter. The Institute for Business & Home Safety has found that the age of the building is a major factor in the snow load risk, although snow load designs have not changed much in recent years. Light metal buildings will typically have less capacity to handle a high snow load. For flat roofs, the step-down area between roof sections is a potential source of roof overload because of the tendency for ice and snow collection.

The best source for determining how much snow load a building can handle is the design plan. IBHS says most roof designs can handle at least 20 lbs per square foot. These designs can range from 10 to 20 lbs per square foot in Mid-Atlantic states, and between 40 and 70 lbs per square foot in New England. IBHS offers these general guidelines to help estimate the weight of snow:

Fresh snow: 10-12 inches of new snow is equal to one inch of water, or about 5 lbs per square foot of roof space, so you could have 4 feet of new snow before you need to worry.

Packed snow: 3-5 inches of old snow is equal to one inch of water, or about 5 lbs per square foot of roof space, so anything more than 2 feet of old snow could be dangerous.

The total accumulated weight of two feet of old snow and two feet of new snow could be as high as 60 lbs per square foot of roof space, which is getting toward the limits of even the best designed roof.

If there's ice, it's much heavier, with one inch equaling about a foot of fresh snow.

For safe removal that won't endanger you or damage your roof, consult a roofing contractor.

To help minimize the risks from melting snow, IBHS suggests keeping attics well ventilated to reduce the risk of ice dams forming. A warm attic melts snow on the roof, causing water to run down and refreeze at the roof's edge where it's cooler. An ice buildup blocks water from draining and forces water under the roof covering and into the attic or down the inside walls.

Commercial buildings with flat roofs are particularly vulnerable to water leaks if ice dams clog roof drains. Water can also find its way inside on sloped roofs along the eaves.

To maintain proper drainage, remove snow from window wells and all walls. Clear debris from basement drains. Make sure gutters are clean and stable to ensure proper drainage.

IBHS research shows about $1 of every $5 paid for home and business property losses in recent years has stemmed from damage due to freezing weather, snow and water leaks. For more information visit the Freezing Weather section of this site.

Property protection begins to dominate discussions

The devastating hurricanes of the last four years have gotten lots of attention from policymakers, insurers and the general public. Much of the discussion has been focused on insurance affordability and availability, but lately there has been a shift toward making homes better able to withstand hurricane damage. IBHS welcomes this trend and hopes it will bring about significant changes that will strengthen hurricane-prone communities from Texas to Maine.

This blog will occassionally bring readers the voices of those on all sides of the property protection issue. Here is a sampling from a weekend editorial in the Orlando Sentinel.

Barney Bishop, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Florida in Tallahassee., wrote in support of House Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson's new federal disaster legislation that would create loan and grant programs to assist homeowners in paying for hazard-mitigation improvements.

"I applaud Thompson and other lawmakers who have made natural-disaster mitigation a priority in an effort to protect hurricane-vulnerable states such as Florida and Texas," Bishop wrote.

The main focuses of Bishop's editorial were encouraging stronger building practices and codes and chiding the Florida Legislature for allowing the state's CAT fund to, in his words, "leave Floridians with the possibility of having to face a tremendous financial crisis."

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink also addressed the need for alternatives to the CAT fund during her keynote speech at the IBHS Annual Conference on Property Loss Reduction on Nov. 14 in Tampa, Fla.

What both Bishop and Sink also have in common is the opinion that Florida's state-run programs and building codes aimed at making houses stronger have done a lot to make Floridians better prepared to weather the inevitable storms - and that other states, like Texas, should follow suit.

Learn more about IBHS' work to strengthen building codes and find options for building stronger new and improving the strength of existing homes.

Rising heating costs lead many to seek alternatives

Authorities say the deflating economy could lead to a rise in the use of alternative heating sources during the cold weather months, which could spark a spike in home fires, The Intelligencer reports today.

The American Red Cross already considers November to March the nation's “fire season” because that's when the most home blazes happen.

And while so-called “alternative” heating sources like space heaters, wood-burning stoves and fireplaces aren't necessarily dangerous, they carry the potential for harm if people use them unsafely.

“It's something that could be a problem because with today's economy more people are going to be trying to use alternative heating in their homes,” said Brian DuBree, chief of the Plumsteadville Volunteer Fire Co. told the newspaper.

A recent survey by the Red Cross and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) showed 80 percent of Americans are concerned about rising heating costs and many will consider alternative heating methods.

The Institute for Business & Home Safety wants to help reduce the risk of heating-related house fires and has created a guide to safely using alternative heating sources. This guide has been well received and is consistent with NFPA guidelines. IBHS members can co-brand the guide or use its content in whole or in part to communicate with their agents, policyholders and partners. To learn more email ciskowitz@ibhs.org.

Wildfires damage or destroy more than 800 properties

Lighter Santa Ana winds and higher humidity levels allowed California firefighters to gain some ground this morning on three raging wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of residents to flee.

Wind gusts had peaked to more than 70 mph at the height of the fires over the weekend, but by Monday morning they weakened to about 20 mph, the National Weather Service said.

The fires have burned since Thursday night from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and counties to the east, blackening more than 55 square miles. In Orange and Riverside counties, the fires chewed through nearly 24,000 acres and were pushing toward Diamond Bar in Los Angeles county. More than 800 properties have been damaged or destroyed by the fires.

Meanwhile, a 10,000-acre fire that hit hard in the Sylmar area of northern Los Angeles on Saturday moved into the Placerita Canyon area of the rugged San Gabriel Mountains and was burning vigorously, but well outside the city. It was 40 percent contained.

The Santa Barbara-area fire that swept through tony Montecito has burned 1,940 acres and was 80 percent contained.

Many evacuees began the agonizing process of making their way back to their destroyed homes.

Starting Monday morning, anxious residents of the Oakridge Mobile Home Park in Sylmar, where 484 homes were destroyed by fire early Saturday, will be allowed to return to inspect their property. Firefighters were able to save about 120 other homes in the community, but many were badly damaged.

National Wildfire Summit Hosted by IBHS

   
Thirty representatives from the fire services community and the insurance industry will gather in Tampa, Fla., on Monday for the first National Fire Safety-Property Insurance Wildfire Summit.

This day-long summit was organized by the Institute for Business & Home Safety following discussions with California State Fire Marshal Kate Dargan. The two organizations worked together during the Witch Creek Wildfire research conducted by IBHS. The research resulted in the publication of Megafires: The Case for Mitigation, which details how homes performed during the wildfire that resulted in $1 billion in insured losses.

"The purpose of the summit is to reinvigorate the relationship between fire services and the insurance industry," said IBHS President & CEO Julie Rochman. "We want to identify areas where insurers and fire officials can work together to reduce the kind of catastrophic losses experienced in the Witch Creek Wildfire."

Organizations attending the summit include American Family Insurance, American Insurance Association, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), Congressional Fire Services Institute, Farmers Insurance Group, Institute for Business & Home Safety, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Code Council, National Fire Protection Association, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Wildfire Coordinating Group, Nationwide Insurance, Office of the California State Fire Marshal, National Association of State Fire Marshals, Bankers Insurance Group, University of California Cooperative Extension, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Travelers, USAA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Forest Service. 

California State Fire Marshal Kate Dargan addresses participants at the National Fire Safety-Property Insurance Summit in Tampa, Fla.

Chief Bob Roper discusses the challenges of reducing property losses without the cooperation of homeowners.

Dave Unnewehr of AIA talks about the challenges facing insurers and the importance of land use planning in wildfire protection.