Commercial Property Restoration After Earthquake – Reconstruction
Property restoration after an earthquake can take from a few days to a few years. If you have suffered damage to your property during an earthquake, your priority should be the safety of lives. Evacuate the property instantly of people. Don’t focus on belongings, but if you can ensure the safety of a few precious belongings, you should do it.
Once the disaster response and relief stage are over, you should look into assessing the losses. For commercial property, you can face two situations where you will be responsible for the property’s restoration and reconstruction. These could be:
- You could be both the property’s owner and occupier
- You could be the property’s owner and have lent it to someone
In any case, you need to ensure the following steps for a thorough and safe restoration and restoration process:
Assess Further Disaster Risk
Before you move on to restoration and reconstruction, you need to evaluate if the property is safe to occupy in the first place. Depending on the earthquake’s strength, you may have experienced only a little or a lot of damage. Your decision on the property could depend on the following factors:
USGS’s Latest Report on the Region
The United States Geological Survey may classify the area prone to receiving earthquakes in the region. It isn’t uncommon for a region that has suffered from earthquakes to experience more earthquakes in the coming future. The severity of these earthquakes may vary. However, if the USGS classifies it as a high-risk area, you may be better off looking for a safer place.
Insurance Coverage for the Disaster
You may or may not receive an insurance claim for a commercial property damaged in the earthquake. You can only find the answer to it when you file for an insurance claim, as there are several different insurance plans for commercial properties in Arkansas. If your insurance refuses to cover the damage or agrees to cover for only a small percentage of restoration and reconstruction, you might again be better off not diving into the entire process.
Likelihood of Your Neighbors Staying
Even if it’s safe to stay in the neighborhood, you should pack up and leave from there if most of the neighborhood is leaving. A commercial property needs to be in a busy area, and if most people leave, you will also lose most of your visitors and clients. Moreover, people may consider the place dangerous despite the USGS report and believe that visiting your commercial property can put their lives at risk.
If you own the property, you can choose to evacuate and seal it. A few years down the line, the area may see a return of people in the area.
File Insurance Claim
Once you have decided to stay in the area, your first step should be to file an insurance claim. Document all the damage while exercising safety precautions and submit a thorough file to the insurance company.
Please remember that the process can take from a few weeks to a few months. Any natural disaster that strikes doesn’t just strike one property. The insurance company might be busy with a large number of claims. However, the more thorough your claim, the quicker your matter may resolve.
Disconnect Power Lines
Earthquakes can damage any number of power lines. As the ground shakes and slips, the power lines running underground may easily snap. Before entering the property, get the power lines disconnected from the main power hub in your area to reduce the chances of accidents.
You can also contact the local power supplying authorities shortly after the earthquake and get this step done to minimize further damage.
Evacuate
Evacuation can be difficult depending on the damage. If the earthquake has severely damaged your commercial property, try to only evacuate with the necessities that haven’t been damaged. Don’t try to salvage belongings from a collapsed or broken structure.
While the restoration and reconstruction process takes place, you can set up or help your tenant set up their business temporarily at another place.
Plan Short-Term and Long-Term Reconstruction
You don’t only have to restore and reconstruct your commercial property; you also have to ensure it stays safe in the long run. Depending on the availability of finances, you can plan short-term and long-term reconstruction.
Your priority should be to make the property livable again and to make it strong enough to withstand potential aftershocks. Fixing the property to fit in the newest aesthetics can be done in the long term.
Don’t forget that earthquakes can lead to water damage, fire damage, mold damage, and other forms of damage around the property too. Seek out a professional restoration company to look at these various kinds of other damage an earthquake can lead to.
If your property already has any such issues, the damage can worsen greatly by an earthquake. Contact a local restoration service, such as the 911 Restoration of Central Arkansas, for complete restoration and strengthening of your property today!
