Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne. Not a school roll call, but the names of four
of the most devastating hurricanes to strike Florida in more than a century. In
less than six weeks, the hurricanes' deadly path caused untold heartache and
damages now estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. Two of the hurricanes,
Frances and Jeanne, both struck land within five miles of each other, something
that has never happened before.
A hurricane emergency response team of more than 100 from MACTEC, Inc. based in
Atlanta, Ga., responded immediately to urgent requests from a wide variety of
public and private sector clients statewide. Tasks ranged from providing
structural, roofing, water intrusion and stormwater damage assessments to
asbestos sampling and remediation.
Editor's Note: Following a devastating hurricane season,
insurance companies are expected to pay over two million claims to customers
whose property was damaged or destroyed, according to the Insurance Information
Institute (I.I.I.). The I.I.I. also reports that more than one out of every five
Florida homes has been damaged by a hurricane this year. Insurance claims from
the four storms will total nearly $23 billion, exceeding the $15.5 billion
record set by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
"The number of claims insurance companies are paying is equivalent to the
entire population of the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area," said William
E. Bailey, director of the Hurricane Insurance Information Center in Punta
Gorda, Fla.
C&R will periodically present updates of the ongoing work in Florida as
different restoration companies share their experiences.
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Florida Hurricane Emergency Response Effort
Helping Clients Resume Operations
Printed in "Florida Engineering Society Journal" - February
2005