Restorative Process

June marks the one-year anniversary of last summer’s Alberta floods, which the provincial government declared the worst disaster in the history of the province. Damage caused by the floods has been extremely expensive, amounting to $5 billion in total damages, and $1.7 billion in insurable damages. This makes it the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.

Most will remember June 19 to 21, 2013, when more than 100 millimetres of rain fell on Southern Alberta, causing rivers to rise to in excess of five times their normal flow rates. The news coverage showed sections of Highway 1 being washed away, 10 rows of the Scotiabank Saddledome becoming submerged, and entire towns cut off by flood waters and mudslides.

One year later, some homeowners, businesses and schools are still in the process of rebuilding, or have just begun to finish. This is not entirely surprising as the amount of devastation caused by the floods was unprecedented.

The strain that this event placed on response and restoration personnel was extreme – repairs, costs and headaches are ongoing. The basic stages of restoration are mitigating the damage, stabilizing the property (for residences, this can include making it liveable; for businesses, it means getting back to business), and final reconstruction.

There were not enough contractors in the area to keep up with the demand for restoration services. Add to this the complication of having to get older buildings restored and up to present-day code.

Those fortunate enough to be back on their feet did not necessarily have less flooding or better luck. The Prairie Sound town house complex in High River, Alberta, for example, shows how organization, access to specialized resources and a restoration partner can be employed to produce a positive result.

During the floods, the Highwood River overflowed to the point where vehicles were swallowed in the town’s streets, and more than 150 people needed to be rescued from the rooftops of their homes. On June 20, all 13,000 residents of High River were ordered to evacuate. The town saw some of the worst flooding of the summer.

The Prairie Sound town house complex, made up of 128 units, is located a five-minute walk from the river. The complex – set up as a figure-eight, with inner courtyards where residents regularly interact with one another – is very much like a small community within a community.

During the flood, units in the complex suffered significant damage caused by backed-up sewage that mixed with water flowing in from surrounding ranches, carrying toxic, category 3 black water. All 128 units were evacuated.

Time is of the essence in restoration projects, not only to mitigate damage to the property, but to ensure a smooth transition back into the home. Living away while work is completed can cost in excess of $10,000 per month for a family. When extrapolated across a large group of people, such as in the case of Prairie Sound, this amounts to thousands of dollars a day in additional expenses.

The same can be said for businesses that lose thousands of dollars daily when they are forced to close by a disaster.

Prairie Sound had never experienced a disaster on this scale and did not have an updated emergency response plan or a restoration partner in place.

In the wake of the flood, the condo association attempted to mitigate and remediate the damage by hiring independent local contractors to tackle the job. But for crews untested with events of this magnitude, progress was sporadic and slow. The property manager opted to commission FirstOnSite about one month after the flood.

DIFFERING NEEDS

The Prairie Sound case was extremely complicated as each unit had different levels of damage and all had to be restored to pre-flood conditions.

Given the toxic nature of the water from overland flooding, there was a great deal of material replacement involved. All interior finishes on the ground level – including walls, ceilings, floors, doors, furnaces and hot water heaters – had to be removed. The majority of the framing was saved (excluding sill plates) and was heavily sanitized and dried to safety standard. The concrete walls and floors were also sanitized and dried using desiccant dehumidification to accelerate the process.

As an additional safety measure, the floors (carpets and solid surfaces) were cleaned and sanitized in all units. And, finally, the ductwork and new furnaces were cleaned to remove any dust, contaminants or construction debris.

An additional challenge for the project was managing the variety of finishes in each unit. For example, each resident had 60 different flooring materials to choose from, and 60 to 70 paint colours.

Because managing the materials sourcing and workflow was a complex job, project managers developed a comprehensive spreadsheet-based system to help track unique owners, residents, units, materials needed and restoration progress. Operations were quarterbacked from a command-centre-type office built on site for the duration of the job.

Operational resources were mobilized from as far away as Nova Scotia – this included equipment for drying and restoration, as well as skilled labour, although most temporary workers were hired locally.

In this type of situation, where many arms and legs are needed to get the job done in a timely manner, tapping into local resources as much as possible, and supplementing from outside when necessary, is recommended. As many as 500 temporary workers were employed to scale up to the jobs on hand.

The same goes for building materials. Imagine the state of the local Home Depot or Rona after the floods. There were line-ups out the door for basic building materials such as two-by-fours, drywall sheets and trim. Orders were backed up for weeks, and there was even a black market for essential materials.

Being able to tap into resources outside of Alberta was a huge asset as the project progressed. Doors, trim and siding were brought in from other provinces and from the United States to keep things on pace.

While residences were being disinfected, safety-tested and rebuilt, many residents were living out of hotels in Calgary, which could cost up to $10,000 per month, adding incentive to get people back into their homes quickly.

Crews were able to get hot water tanks up and running in five to eight weeks, and a full-time health and safety manager ensured that the site was safe for residents as it was, in essence, a construction zone.

Over the course of the project, more than 300,000 square feet of drywall was installed, and 128 water tanks and furnaces were installed in one month. There were no lost-time injuries and reconstruction was mostly completed by the holiday season.

KEEPING RESIDENTS UPDATED

Communication is always key when restoring someone’s property. In the case of Prairie Sound, residents were consistently updated on the state of the project, and responses were provided for specific concerns and requests.

The community’s Facebook page was used to post updates, a weekly newsletter was produced, and news was posted on a physical billboard on the premises to keep residents informed of progress.

While this communication was directed at residents, it went a long way to helping property management and insurers manage the situation, and understand exactly where things stood at any given point.

The flooding was an eye-opening experience for insurers and property managers, who had never before had to respond to a disaster of this magnitude.

The fact is that this type of extreme weather event is becoming increasingly common. It is essential that property owners and insurers be aware of the threats and have a plan in place before the storm hits.

A proper emergency response plan includes a full risk assessment specific to the property and a written plan that addresses those risks and the stakeholders involved, and having a restoration partner on board for when disaster
strikes.

No two plans will be exactly alike, as special considerations need to be taken into account. What are the main operational and business priorities in order of importance? For example, is the business dependent on its physical location, or can it use technology to continue its operations remotely? How can a building’s construction and floor plans help or hinder restoration efforts? This unique plan should be tested on a regular basis.

A comprehensive, tested emergency response plan is what will put properties in a good position to weather a serious storm, and help to mitigate damages

The anniversary of the Alberta floods is a reminder that disasters come quickly, but their effects are long-lasting. It is our responsibility to be prepared for the next one.