December 6th, 2009
Graphic from Tioga County website
Much anticipated flood maps will be displayed on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 from 4:00 pm to 8:0 pm at the Tioga County Office Building (56 Main St in Oswego). The maps are only preliminary, but will give residents an idea about if their homes are in a flood plain.
Information from the National Flood Insurance Program will be included at this event as anyone who lives in a flood plain will have to purchase flood insurance. PressConnects.com reports:
“Tioga County residents and municipalities suffered millions of dollars in flood damage in the last several years, culminating in a devastating flood in June 2006 and a flash flood five months later.
The new maps are part of a five-year, $1 billion program to provide updated, digitized flood maps for 92 percent of the nation’s population.”
Mary Colvin, the Mitigation Division of FEMA’s Region II, was interviewed and she advised:
“While most locations in Tioga County do not have significant changes, the Village of Nichols is protected by a levee system that may not meet mapping standards…The fact that the Nichols levee may not provide adequate protection means an increase in the number of flood-prone properties there.
…The single biggest mitigation option is flood insurance…If you’re currently out of the flood zone, but are going into it under the new maps, you should buy it now. That way, your current, less risky flood zone designation can be ‘grandfathered’ in.”
Learn more about flood insurance basics.
With the cold winter months already upon us, there are more than just floods from natural disaster. Home and business owners often neglect to weatherize a building. Freezing weather can lead to frozen pipes, which will bring flooding. Is your home insured for damages caused by broken pipes? Learn more about preventing burst pipes.
Tags: flood insurance, preparing for a flood, Tioga County Office Building
Posted in Disaster Recovery News, Emergency preparedness, Flood Damage, Preparedness, Water Damage, flood insurance, insurance | No Comments »
November 28th, 2009
Graphic from the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross launched a campaign this fall aimed at businesses called the “Red Cross Ready Rating Program“. It is designed to help businesses with their preparedness and emergency disaster planning.
The Ready Rating Program is free to join and provides a checklist to help business owners see how ready they really are for the unthinkable by providing a score that measures their preparedness. The goal is for businesses to reevaluate themselves on a yearly basis and improve upon their previous readiness score.
The American Red Cross states:
“Ready Rating also encourages businesses…to promote personal preparedness efforts among employees…and families. A recent Red Cross survey showed that 51 percent of Americans have experienced at least one emergency situation where they lost utilities for at least three days, had to evacuate, could not return home or communicate with family members or had to provide first aid to others. Although 89 percent of those surveyed believe it is important to be prepared for emergencies, far fewer are actually taking the steps necessary to prepare.”
The Red Cross Ready Rating Program has centers throughout New York to provide guidance and resources to businesses. Information on how to best use the assessment tools can be found on the Red Cross in Greater New York site.
Learn how to create a disaster plan for your business.
Learn what to do after a disaster.
Tags: American Red Cross, business disaster preparedness, emergency planning
Posted in Disaster Recovery News, Emergency preparedness, Preparedness, Restoration, business continuity | No Comments »
November 23rd, 2009
Photo by dandeluca
New York City Hall is in desperate need of major attention. SILive.com states: “It is the oldest continuously used government building in the country; the heart of New York City civic life. And it is filled with irreplaceable artifacts and priceless works of art…And it’s falling apart… The nearly two-centuries old New York City Hall has a roof in imminent danger of collapse, crumbling mortar in the walls, plaster peeling from the ceiling, outdated electrical, heating and cooling systems — and it requires sprinklers and fire alarms to meet new building codes.”
The repairs are going to cost an estimated $94 million. Previous mayors have known about the restorations that needed to be made and put these issues on the backburner. Now it is too late and this job cannot be pushed back further and Mayor Blumberg is going to have to find the cash for the repairs that started in March 2009.
One of the startling discoveries made by engineers is water damage that had been rotting wood for years where they Mayor and his staff work. Most of the work is being done in the west wing of City. Work in the east wing will begin in summer 2010. The whole project is expected be done by 2012. More on this story.
Waiting is expensive and this has been made painfully obvious to those involved in all aspects of this restoration project. If repairs would have been made when they became known and not just pushed aside, the city and its tax payers would not be paying for the extra repair costs now.
Read about how to keep restoration costs down.
Tags: New York City Hall, New York City water damage, water damage restoration
Posted in Disaster Recovery News, Mold Damage, Restoration, Water Damage, business continuity | No Comments »
