In these times of easy and instant access to news from around the globe, the effects of major earthquakes in Indonesia and Mexico, cyclones in Southeast Asia, Tsunamis around the world, volcanoes in Europe in unexpected places and, of course, raging forest fires and hurricanes in the United States are frequently in the news. Accompanying each of these disasters are immediate threats to construction projects, both physical and those affecting the safety and health of personnel.
However, after the dust settles or the waters recede, myriad issues will become obstacles to the road to recovery for a contractor to navigate. In 2020 alone, the volume of strong storms and forest fires have focused so much attention on the impact of disasters. The purpose of this article is to provide guidelines in anticipation of disasters, for reviewing the impact of a disaster as it is happening, and developing a mitigation plan to limit losses.
The best time to prepare for a disaster on a project is before the project starts. Reviewing contract rights, insurance policies and company disaster response protocols while a category 3 hurricane is a day away is not a best practice. To avoid falling into that situation, a contractor should follow the following guidelines. Doing so facilitates proper action during the actual disaster itself and in the aftermath.
Whether or not handling the disaster was anticipated and well planned by the contractor, following every disaster there is the need to regroup. The contractor may return to a project destroyed by water or fire or, if fortunate, may return to a project that will be back to some level of “normal” after cleanup operations.
Following the disaster event, a contractor should follow these guidelines:
A natural disaster dramatically alters the rebuilding landscape and new opportunities for projects will arise. However, accompanying these opportunities are many challenges that require special consideration:
As the number and severity of natural disasters has increased in the United States, and given the unusual number of them in 2020, the importance of considering the potential of one affecting a project is obvious. The guidelines in this article, from pre-planning to post-recovery, hopefully set out a useful and practical framework to optimize a contractor’s success in the face of a natural disaster.
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