Authored by Barry Wood, Director, Operations at JLL.
Tips for tornado preparedness:

• Preparedness and Training
  • Teams should know their local Emergency Weather resources that provide storm watch, storm warning, tornado warning and tornado watch alerts before and during severe weather incidents.
  • Ensure your team is trained in tornado response including on and off-site management, maintenance, security and housekeeping.
  • Ensure your teams knows all building and emergency shutdown procedures.
  • Evaluate needs for emergency supplies including plywood, studs, plastic sheeting, tarps, tape, nails, screws, tools sandbags, backup generators, pumps, extension cords, fuel, provisions for personnel that may need to stay on site for extended periods. This list may grow based on the type and needs of the property
  • Ensure your tenants know all primary, secondary, and tertiary safe areas including procedures when vacating their space into common areas.
  • Encourage tenants to train their employees on all tenant-specific emergency response procedures and building specific information.
• Alerts
  • Ensure your facility has an assigned person listening to weather alerts during higher probability weather patterns.
• Notifications
  • Ensure the property has means of communicating to tenants in real time. Ensure the system is updated regularly with tenant emergency and local contact information. This system should be dedicated to emergency response notifications and tested regularly.
• Building Response Actions
  • Ensure tenant notifications are accurate, concise and current.
  • Property staff, contractors and tenants must participate in directing public to safe areas.
  • Ensure elevators are utilized and prioritized for use by employees and public patrons with access and functional needs during tornado warnings.
  • Have plans to quickly remove outside equipment and FF&E that may become projectiles if the property is in close proximity to the tornado.
• Immediate Response to an incident that impacts the facility
  • Ensure that employees, tenants and public patrons have sheltered in safe areas and have means of safe egress from the building.
  • Check building for damage and evaluate the need for implementing shutdown procedures.
  • Communicate to the building owner or property management team the conditions that are known at the facility. Coordinate with the building owner for mobilization of an approved emergency restoration provider (this should be coordinated and under agreement with approval of the building owner and the building owner’s insurance provider).
  • Implement access plan for tenants and tenant contractors to access restore their spaces.

Tips for hurricane preparedness:
Before storm season:

• Emergency Response Manual: Have an updated ERM printed out kept in your vehicle
• Perform a Red Flag notification system test / update call lists
• Contracts: Confirm your vendor contracts are current
  • Restoration vendors (catastrophic response, emergency security support, landscapers / tree services, etc.).
  • Where applicable, check systems: Sump pumps, generators, lift stations
  • Fire Watch vendors – in the event of power outages, make sure you have an executed agreement for regular patrols until power is restored.
• Tracking Storms: (NOAA has a great app for phone’s / Site for laptops: https://www.noaa.gov/) Set preferences to receive regular storm updates.

Before the storm hits:

• Prep: In the day(s) before anticipated landfall – secure the premises
  • Wrap any trash receptacles
  • Remove any common area items that may become airborne in high winds
  • Have vendor check roofs for open HVAC units and debris / clear roof drains and gutters
  • Check sump pumps and lift stations and make certain they are clear / functioning
  • Confirm rain diversion systems are clear with regular vactoring maintenance (roof drains / gutters / parking lot catch basins, etc.)
  • Pull compactors prior to storm landfall
  • Include palm tree “booting” and regular tree trimming to remove any diseased limbs, lift canopy and remove “sail” to avoid down trees from high protracted winds to Annual Landscape contracts
  • Document / photograph “before” Owner controlled common area conditions
  • Review your Clients impairment policy, keep contacts for their insurance provider, fire sprinkler monitoring services and Client available

• Communication: Stay in regular contact with all stakeholders, including tenants and vendors.
  • If power goes out, but cell service is active fully charge back up batteries for handheld devices. NOTE: In the event cell phone service loss, try texting, as that service often remains a viable alternative even if phone calls are not possible.

After the storm:

• Assess: After high winds die down and local authorities /NOAA confirms safe conditions visit the property, and roads are safe to drive, or if you cannot travel to the site, rely on your vendors for the updates until you are able to get on property
• Communicate: Report findings to key internal stakeholders (RM, ROM & RMM) with “all clear” update, or an overview of any damage and steps necessary to restore, and any support you may require
• Document: Photograph any damage to the property for potential insurance claims.