Tornado Season is Upon Us
Every summer, southern Ontario experiences severe weather events that sometimes include tornados. While most of the time a tornado will touch down in some remote area and no one notices, sometimes it will strike a community and devastate peoples lives from wide spread destruction of property. Caskanette Udall has worked on many tornado events in various capacities over the years.
After the storm has left, first responders are on site immediately working to help victims and clear debris. Engineers are required to work with first responders to assess building safety before anyone can enter. If a building is not stable, it is an ongoing safety hazard that needs to be stabilized or demolished to a point where emergency personnel can enter to complete their work. We will work with first responders and contractors to acquire the machinery, materials and equipment needed to make a building safe.
Assessing the damage to buildings is the first step in determining how to repair a building. Sometimes the building is obviously damaged beyond repair and demolition is the only option. But the damage can vary widely from full destruction to simple mysterious cracks in a wall or ceiling. With our lengthy experience in assessing damage from tornados, explosions, and high wind events, we can examine the damage and determine if it is related and give the best course of action for repairs. We will provide a preliminary assessment that will allow the insurer to establish a course of action and set reserves. We then do a more thorough assessment after tearout of the interior finishes and provide a complete scope of structural repairs and engineered drawings.
Working in a disaster area requires fast thinking and coordination with multiple parties on multiple properties. One must understand the immediate needs and provide information on a timely organized basis. But less severe claims will also follow in the coming weeks or months. As time passes, it becomes more difficult to distinguish between a pre-existing problem and a new issue. Having experience with losses in the immediate aftermath of a tornado greatly helps with deciphering unrelated claims.
Caskanette Udall has the experience and tools necessary to hit the ground running when the next tornado strikes. Call us. We’re ready.
