Recovering from Disaster

On April 30, 1999, construction of new residences at Wespark Town Homes, a condominium association located in Chicago's far southwest suburbs, continued as scheduled. About 80 homes were already sold, closed and occupied, while another 40 homes were being built. Shortly after lunch, the excavating machine digging a trench for cable TV struck a gas line. Smelling gas, the operator shut down the machine and alerted utility and fire department officials. Personnel from both organizations arrived quickly and began to address the problem. As their work continued, gas spread and flowed into the surrounding soil, eventually finding its way to the earth under the town home located closest to the breach. Percolating upward, the gas met and slowly penetrated the concrete slab, filled the living room, and was ultimately ignited by the fireplace pilot. The town home exploded and instantly disappeared. The utility crew and firemen were knocked off their feet, some blown in the air and across the street. Nearby town homes caved in and suffered severe damage. Luckily, both townhome-owners were at work. Since most other residents were either at work or at school, no lives were lost and no life-threatening injuries were suffered. A school bus full of children arrived at the site shortly after the explosion; as did a moving van filled with the furniture from a couple who were moving into their new town home that very morning. Unfortunately, the townhome no longer existed. Miraculously, a pregnant woman sleeping in a second floor bedroom of the town home adjacent to the explosion simply awoke, saw the blue sky, and walked out what had been her front door.

Twenty-four town homes were then demolished and rebuilt while sixty more needed significant repairs. The reconstruction process was completed in July 2000 at a cost of $5,000,000 with funds available from the association's insurance coverage. The magnitude of the damage and disruption was similar to a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake and was reportedly the largest loss to a condominium association in Illinois history.

The first step in the road to recovery in such a disaster is recognizing the complexity of the circumstances that the association is about to face. Things are about to happen over which the association may have no control, but which will have a significant impact on management and the community. A sole individual should be assigned to take the first organizational and communication steps. This would normally be the association President or the Community Manager; someone who is organized, able to respond calmly to high emotion, able to communicate sympathy and regret, and not given to exaggerating predictions as to time and performance. At this step in the project, the primary focus is customer service.

Fire, police, building, and utility personnel will be on the site performing what they are trained to do. Stay in close communication and contact with these individuals. Find out what they've found out, what they're doing about it, and how long they think they are going to be at it. Contact charitable organizations, like the Red Cross or Salvation Army to be available. The residents will appreciate their help.

During the first chaotic hours, the two most common demands of the residents are to get back into their damaged home to get their "stuff" and to find them a suitable place to live. Access to their home would be a matter usually controlled by the police, fire, or building department and it may not be permitted for a long period of time. How these matters are handled by the association is extremely important because this may be the owners' first introduction to the dynamic of the relationship between personal homeowner insurance and the association's insurance. Accumulate and distribute a list of names, addresses and phone numbers of nearby hotels and apartment complexes. However, the association's insurance coverage does not routinely reimburse owners' for this type of expense so it is imperative that the owners' contact their own insurance agents for coverage explanation. There will be many questions between the association and the owners, in particular related to understanding the distinction between association and owners' insurance. For instance, "When will my home be fixed? Who will pay? Can I just move and you pay me for my home? Remember, the owners' are searching for quick and immediate answers.

Contact the association's insurance company immediately, and explain to the agent that a significant loss has occurred. Adjustors are often assigned according to the size of the loss. Try to maximize the site visits of the adjustor. This serves as a public relations plus with the owners.

Begin the process of communication. Build a temporary sign structure on the property for the association and the owners to post notices. This is a very visible sign of action. The disaster will attract visitors: owners' parents, children, relatives, and friends, elected officials, news crews, reporters, and curiosity seekers. Maintain the site as a safe environment!

Within 24 hours of the event, the first written report of the situation should be completed, mailed and posted. This report should include 1) notice of an owners' meeting to take place within 72 hours of the event, 2) a summary of what you've learned from fire department personnel and other city officials, 3) a description of what the association's insurance is expected to cover and not cover, 4) a mandate that personal insurance agents be contacted immediately. Assign a specific voice mail and e-mail box to the event. The greeting should accurately describe the known events, specifically state how long it will take for the call to be returned, and that the information and request they are leaving will be acted upon if possible.

Put together the association's professional team and schedule the first meeting with the insurance adjustor. In addition to the community manager, consider bringing in other management personnel with experience and expertise in disaster recovery. The board will be faced with heavy decisions very quickly. Understandably, some board members will not be able to put aside whatever personal crisis the event may have visited upon them or may not have bargained for this type of responsibility when they became a board member. Involve the association's attorney and an engineer with construction experience, preferably, insurance restoration experience.

The process of recovery will be long, and at times frustrating. Undoubtedly, every disaster will have its own idiosyncrasies, such as:

Since the routine of the lives of the owners and board members is disrupted for a long period of time, impatience grows. Anticipate this type of emotion and be prepared to handle as necessary. When the disaster recovery is finally finished there will be a great sense of relief and a feeling of accomplishment.