Okay, so summers officially here, or so it seemed for a brief, shining moment. Now, we have serial rain, the water tables high and there's no where for the water to go. By next week, we may get a break, but the temps go way up again. Heavy rains through Friday night, with T-storms bringing inches per hour, can sometimes flood homes and businesses in towns like Bronxville.
We live in Fleetwood and have a local, family owned business that serves Eastchester, so we're often there to shop and visit great restaurants. I take our clients to Mickey's a lot for lunch and to Ciao's for special occasions. Our family believes in the 'Shop Local' spirit that is sweeping the area and keeping us away from big box stores and chains on Central Avenue.
But, we were heartbroken to see so many impacted by power outages and wind damage during Sandy, the frozen pipes from January's cold snap and now these flooding rains. That's as we help families, doctors in their offices and local businesses and towns clean up.
For most restoration companies, the phones ring and they reach capacity quickly during disasters. More than half the businesses that face a fire or water damage disaster do not recover, to reopen after the damage is done. That's because they are not able to restore and reopen quickly enough for their customers. In homes, unattended water damages or inadequate drying can lead to mold in later months or years, long after a flood or water damage situation.
Most of the companies like ours deal with any water issue, from a flooding toilet in an upstairs bathroom, to feet of water in basements after Hurricanes sweep through -- like Sandy and Irene, or Tropical Storm Lee that really made Bronxville flood. What the school systems, towns and local emergency managers need is to urge home and business owners to professional dry their structures and prevent great damage. We work directly with the insurance claims people, to make sure that property owners get reimbursed, so they can replace lost items and furniture, move on with their lives and pay their plumbers and service providers like us.
With a busy hurricane season predicted, take note that when natural disasters strike, like "Sandy," or flooding rains, it can be all too easy to lose hope. In light of frustrating and stressful water situations in our home or business, especially in a severe storm that causes damage and loss, what do you do?
Make sure that any company you bring in to mop up has training in structural drying, has staff and does not pick up workers they do not know, outside of a convenience store and that they are licensed and insured (Worker's Comp). You want "heroes," with a storm team on standby when a disaster may strike near you.
Water damage restoration companies are not all available 24 hours a day, and even 365 days a year -- like Forrest and my crews. So, make sure that your family and your cleanup team are prepared for the unpredictable. Local owners like us have an 'Extreme Team' within 40 minutes of Bronxville, with 18-wheelers carrying huge drying equipment and water remediation gear.
Our Servpro of Scarsdale / Mount Vernon has teamed up with other local owners in our network to help property owners after fires in multi-family buildings and water damages in schools and hospitals throughout New York state. Recent mobilizations of our Castastrophic Storm Response Team worked on commercial and public properties after:
Hurricane Sandy – 2012
Nashville Floods – 2010
Hurricane Ike - 2008
Chicago Floods - 2007
Ohio Floods - 2007
California Wildfires - 2012 & 2007
Hurricanes Wilma, Rita & Katrina - 2005
When heavy rains or catastrophic storms strike, be sure to get professional, structural drying help for your business or home -- or sometimes both! Restoration companies like our local, family owned Servpro that serves Bronxville and the lower Hudson valley, can help you and prevent further damage, like mold growth.
We will strive to help in flooding and water damage situations and make it "Like it never even happened."
Flooded basements may be on the way to Westchester County -- to towns like Eastchester 10709.
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