June 6, 2007—The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has released its top 10 tips for professionals to prepare for a hurricane or natural disaster.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast states during the summer of 2005, was the most costly natural disaster in US history.
Here are the BOMA guidelines:
- Create an emergency preparedness plan and team to deal with emergency issues;
- Identify objects within the building envelope that would need to be removed, stored or secured (e.g., trash cans, site furniture, materials stored on roof);
- Identify doors and windows that would need to be boarded over or taped to reduce flying glass in event of breakage;
- Identify additional building elements that may warrant special attention such as roofing materials, flashing and coping materials, roof vents and air intakes, awnings, gutters and downspouts, roof-mounted, post-mounted or suspended signage, free-standing equipment and siding materials;
- Review local evacuation procedures and identify agency that will issue evacuation order;
- Determine how the evacuation order will be communicated and where evacuation routes and shelters are located;
- Begin preparations for a possible shutdown and evacuation of your building when a hurricane watch is issued. DO NOT wait until a warning is issued; it may be too late;
- Make certain all of your tenants are aware of the building evacuation procedures in the event of a hurricane, and encourage tenants to participate in evacuation drills
- Develop a system to notify tenants of building status after storm;
- Appoint a re-entry team to access building damage.
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an international federation of more than 90 local associations and affiliated organizations. For more detailed help in developing and assessing emergency plans, it offers two publications, The Property Professional’s Guide to Emergency Preparedness, and Are Your Tenants Safe?
For these and other BOMA publications, see the BOMA Web site.
