disaster recovery

Coping with the Aftermath of Allison
When Tropical Storm Allison visited Houston, she left a calling card so big she has earned herself a place in national storm history. Over a five-day period, her fury knew no bounds, pummeling the Houston area with 35.7 inches of rain. Floodwaters inundated 30,000 structures in Harris Co., home to downtown Houston. Twenty-two people died in the city, some swept away by rogue currents on flooded streets.

Allison truly earned her title, "The Great Flood of 2001." The industry will not know the full impact for months and perhaps years to come, but preliminary figures place the losses at $5 billion without taking business interruption costs into account.

"This is the largest concentration of commercial damage we have ever been called to," said Mark Davis, CEO of Belfor, the largest disaster recovery
company in the world. These words are backed by lengthy experience.

Belfor's people assisted in cleanup, restoration, and reconstruction following Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew, the Midwest flood, and the North Ridge earthquake, just to name a few. Davis continued, "The surrounding rivers, bayous, and lakes, combined with Houston's underground structures, created a level of devastation that our most experienced people have rarely encountered. The challenges were, and still are, enormous.