Condo Media - December 2017 - 36

Step-by-Step
Y

ou won't find many industry
executives who would argue that associations don't
need a disaster plan. You
also won't find many associations that
have developed one. The process is
complicated and the task is daunting.
But like any enormous undertaking,
disaster planning is more manageable
when broken into smaller pieces.
This outline won't cover everything a
disaster plan should include, but it will
provide a frame of reference and, we
hope, a starting point, for associations
looking for a place to begin.
DEFINE DISASTER BROADLY.
"Disasters come in many forms and
many sizes," Greg Pierce, vice president
and director of business development
for NorthStar Insurance Services, Inc.,
notes. The disaster plan, he says, should
anticipate small emergencies, as well as
large ones.
START BY ASKING A SERIES
OF "WHAT-IF" QUESTIONS.
What if a pipe breaks? What if a fire
damages or destroys several units,
a building, or the entire community?
What if the power goes out for several
days? What if it is necessary to evacuate some of the community's residents,
or all of them? The more questions you
pose, the more detailed your disaster
plan will be.

Disaster Planning Starts Here

their units, and where they should
gather if everyone must leave the site.
ANALYZE YOUR COMMUNITY.
Identify the most vulnerable areas
where damage risks are greatest, and
detail the measures required to protect
them in advance of a known threat. For
example: Note the highest and lowest
points in your community; identify the
areas or streets most prone to flooding.
If the community has ponds or other
water areas, determine whether the
water levels can be lowered in advance
of a coming storm and calculate how
much in advance that process must
begin, Marc Markel, the Houston attorney quoted in the feature article,
advises. "Pumps can only work so fast,"
he notes.
CONSIDER THE ASSOCIATION'S
PERSONNEL NEEDS DURING
AN EMERGENCY.
If you have an elevator building and
a power outage is possible, consider
whether you should have an engineer
ride out the storm in the building.
Markel's advice to many of his Houston condominium association clients:
"You bet!"

MAKE THE PLANNING
PROCESS A GROUP EFFORT.
Include board members, owners and
industry professionals. The local police
and fire departments and emergency
planning agency if there is one, can also
provide helpful input.

DESIGNATE EMERGENCY
COORDINATORS FOR
THE COMMUNITY.
These are the people who will take the
lead in a disaster, assuming responsibility for calling first responders (police,
fire, ambulance), providing information
and instructions to residents, contacting vendors needed to deal with the
emergency, reporting the loss to the
insurance company, and coordinating
the repairs.

START WITH AN EVACUATION PLAN.
The priority in any disaster is to prevent
injuries. You get people out safely first
and then worry about the property. The
plan should also specify where owners
are to meet if they are forced to leave

CREATE A LIST OF RESIDENTS WITH
THEIR EMERGENCY CONTACTS.
Identify residents with special needs who
would require special assistance if the
buildings are evacuated. "If you keep
this information in an electronic file and

36

CONDOMEDIA

update it regularly," Paula Solemina,
director of marketing for Pro-Care, Inc.,
a disaster recovery firm, notes, "it will be
easier to check on them to be sure they
are safe."
CREATE AN EMERGENCY CONTACT
LIST FOR THE COMMUNITY.
Include contact information for board
members, the association manager, first
responders, the association's attorney
and insurance agent, and vendors you
might need to contact in an emergency.
Create a file of essential information
you would want to have at hand immediately in an emergency, store it in a
safe location, and make sure more than
one person has access to it, Solemina
emphasizes. "It won't do you any good
if the only person who can reach it is on
vacation when an emergency occurs."
MAINTAIN A CURRENT
VENDOR LIST AND UPDATE
THE INFORMATION REGULARLY.
Confirm their contact information, keep
their certificates of insurance on file,
make sure the companies are still in
business (a reasonable concern when
dealing with a small, one-person operation, Solemina notes), and verify their
ability to provide emergency services.
"You might want to have more than one
plumber or more than one electrician
on the list," she suggests.
PROTECT VITAL
ASSOCIATION RECORDS.
Store back-up records (paper records
and computer data) off-site. Include
the obvious, the association's governing documents and insurance policies,
as well as some things you might not
consider-construction blueprints, for
example, which would be helpful if you
rebuild the community or substantial
parts of it. You want to make sure your
management company has a reasonable plan for protecting its records,
as well.
Condo Media - December 2017

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