Pakistan Flood Disaster Aid

As the tragedy in Pakistan continues to worsen, affecting millions already, and with dire warnings of loss of life potentially reaching into the millions, foreign aid is crucial in dealing with the disaster. Sadly, the amount of aid promised and currently being delivered is falling far short of what is needed. Food, clean water and shelter are in short supply and the flooding is expected to spread even more.

The situation is becoming desperate in the Punjab region, where some 8 million are reportedly affected, and there have been reports of looting and protests as the locals struggle to find the basic necessities to stay alive. The United Nations has acknowledged that the biggest problem is a shortage of relief materials, not lack of access to the stricken areas. The lack of clean water is a major concern and millions, especially children, are at risk of fatal diseases caused from drinking contaminated water.

There are many reports of desperate people swimming through the flood waters in search of food and supplies to bring back to stranded survivors who have yet to receive any aid. As the sense of hopelessness grows, more deaths and unrest are likely unless aid is increased far above current levels. 2 million tents, for instance, are needed and Pakistan has so far received less than 100,000.

A more long-term issue is the rebuilding of roads, bridges and other infrastructure that have been damaged or destroyed by the flooding. The World Bank has promised to redirect 900 million dollars from other projects in Pakistan into the relief and rebuilding effort but much more help is needed. Government buildings, schools and hospitals have been lost along with countless homes and a massive effort will be necessary over the next few years to rebuild what has already been destroyed and the damage may spread even further.

Many crops have been lost as the flooding has hit hard in Pakistan's agricultural belt, adding to the potential shortages of food as the relief effort continues. There are concerns that the wheat crop may not be able to be planted in September due to the flooded fields, further exacerbating the potential long term food supply dilemma. Unicef has called the disaster the "biggest emergency on the planet today".

For those trying to call Pakistan to reach friends or family it has been frustrating, to say the least. As the infrastructure begins to be rebuilt and communication starts to return to normal many will want to take advantage of telecom providers who make cheap calls to Pakistan available to everyone world-wide. Pakistan needs the world to come to its aid and we should all do our part to help in the relief and recovery.

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Condo Flood Disaster (Part 2)

Here is the second part of the flood disaster I outlined in previous article. This part will focus more on the remediation process that had to take place. It was a timely process, and the family was definitely put through a lot as well. In the end though they pulled through great and were able to happily move back into their homes.

As I proceeded with getting the home owners moved into a hotel, I discovered that returning all five condos back to normal status would be a battle that was going to be more difficult than any other challenge I had experienced before. The interesting issue from a cosmetic stand point was that the hardwoods installed were floating hardwoods, which means that the hardwoods are a tongue and grove application over a foam moisture barrier. Water is the worst for this type of installation because the water travels underneath the hardwoods and traps moisture into the concrete slab. The only way to fully dry the hardwoods is to remove and replace, unfortunately in this situation the hardwoods were discontinued so there was no way to remove the damaged sections only, all hardwoods had to be removed. Once I had all of the hardwoods and carpet removed I set up, I moved all furniture into storage units and then set up dehumidifiers as well as fans to assist with the drying.

One would think that with the condos essentially vacant at this point, the repairs would be easy; however, this was not the case. At any point, when I had water intrusion, no matter how large or small, I would also hire an environmental consultant to scan the damage with a thermal imaging camera as well as an electronic moisture reader. The thermal imaging camera allowed me to see the extent of the water that was trapped in the walls by the insulation. A thermal imaging camera detects any moisture in a "hot/cold" pattern. It gives you an insight as to where water is "hiding". If water is trapped between walls you must remove it otherwise you run the risk of mold growth. Mold will only stop growing if you remove its life source, water. In this situation the water had been absorbed into the insulation behind the sheetrock and was lacking any air flow to help dry out. In each condo I had to remove two feet of sheetrock on all exposed walls. On the exterior walls this meant having only a piece of sheathing to protect the interior of the condo, due to the fact that the stucco was removed on the outside.

Removal of sheetrock produces an immense amount of dust, all of which required the protection and shutting down of the HVAC system in each condo. To fully understand the overview, I had five condos with exposure to the summer heat, no flooring, and no sheetrock up to two feet around 80% of the condo. Typically, the repair within itself would be manageable at this point as all moisture affect material was removed and the fans and dehumidifiers are in place to dry out the wood framing members within the condo. However, the summertime beach rain showers kept coming. The endless circle continued for two weeks. Waterproofing application could not be completed on the exterior of the building due to the rain, this in turn allowed water to re-enter the condos. For two weeks I had developed a routine of entering into the condos each day to reposition fans, gather moisture readings, spraying and wiping down any new growth with Simple Green, and over all emotional containment from the affected homeowners.

Finally, the weather cooperated and waterproofing was applied to the exterior of the building. Once the condos were safe from any water intrusion it was time to focus on a complete "dry out" of the framing members. The goal is always to have a moisture reading of 17 percent or lower. I will not accept anything over this as it puts the area at risk for mold growth once it is closed up. It took two full weeks to get even the smallest areas to dry out, and then I was able to start installing installation and sheetrock. In order to help alleviate any fears about the condo being subject to any air born mold spores I wiped down all the walls with a detergent as well as painted the walls with mildew inhibitor paint. Before any furnishings were moved back into the condo I had a cleaning crew perform a full on deep "new construction" clean, where every surface is wet wiped and disinfected. To promote a positive outcome for the homeowners I had the HVAC duct system fully cleaned to remove any dust and mold spores that may have contaminated the system. Given that the homeowners were out of their condos for roughly one and a half months, and during that time they were able to see the damage that was taking place I felt it was best for the company's reputation to proceed with a mold air sample. I was confident that the results would provide relief to the owners as they would finally be able to enter into their homes and feel safe again. I subsequently followed two major rain storms with a thermal imagining scan of the condo to ensure that the walls were dry.

While this is one of many incidences that I have experienced, it was one of the more complicated with regards to continual water intrusion. I have been in condos where every single surface has black growth on it, and I have had to contain and remediate. While situations of full on growth are frustrating they tend to take place because no one is living in the home. Mold must have a food source and in order for growth to get out of hand, the food source of water has to be neglected and not able to dry. In those situations I find that the repairs are easier because no one is currently living with the growth and you can work swiftly and effectively to make the necessary repairs. The remediation's that involve a family or a homeowner that is living with the mold are the most difficult because you have to protect their safety while working swiftly to return their lives back to normal as quickly as possible.

Water damage is not one of those items that can be pushed down the list of "to do's". If not taken care of properly, it can and often will not only drain your bank account, but leave you or a family member in the hospital! I have heard stories from other adjustor's that have dealt with a home owner renovating their home. Once a wall was taken out for the renovation, mold that had been growing in a contained environment for 2 years was now open to the family's air source. Think of a mold inspection like going to the doctors, a lot of the times we don't want to. Nobody wants to hear bad news, but you can't fix the problem if you aren't aware that a problem exists.

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Condo Flood Disaster (Part 1)

This is part 1 of 2 of one of the more serious cases of water intrusion that I have had to deal with in my career. The first part of the story covers a little bit of background leading up to the initial disaster. Part 2 will cover the remediation of the water damage in the condo's to illustrate a firsthand account of handling water intrusion on a large commercial scale.

The background of the situation is rather simple... nine years ago (2003) Charleston, South Carolina experienced one of the largest real estate growths the city had ever seen. Being a destination city drew tourist to want to either move to Charleston or to have a vacation home located there. In the industry of multi-family building there were limited names to meet these ever growing needs. At the time demands were high and product was low. New companies that were leaders in the multi-family building industry entered in to the market for Charleston. With so many new projects, companies scrambled to gather as many employees, sub contractors, and materials as they could. When there is a massive push to expedite product and there is a lack of personal commitment to the final outcome there will always be oversight and room for error. That is exactly what took place as I entered into the picture with several condominium projects.

Moving ahead seven years, the room for error reared its ugly head. Over the course of seven years the condominiums that companies had been in a mad rush to complete were full of homeowners living enjoyable lives. My position with the company had been to cover the areas of quality control, homeowner liaison, and repairs from a remediation stand point. I started to notice that water intrusion was becoming consistent on several projects in areas that were associated with the exterior design and stucco application. Through due diligence and active involvement in a swift resolution, the builder determined that all stucco must be removed, sheathing repaired, window reinstallation, and a new water proofing application installed on four condo projects. During this process there was the ever growing battle of keeping homeowners happy, praying weather would cooperate, project funds from insurance claims to keep coming in, and that in the end the recladding of the stucco would address all of the concerns.

My main concern on each project was to ensure that my homeowner's were informed, content, and kept on schedule. One project alone had one hundred and fifty condominiums. Whenever you remove any exterior portion of a building you are making it completely bare and susceptible to the elements of Mother Nature. I have always informed my homeowners that I work business hours, but in the case of an emergency I would rather be contacted at midnight than to have an absorbent amount of damage to address the following morning. Charleston is a typical beach town with regards to its weather, summer time rain storms come in fast and heavy. At roughly 9:30pm one night I received a phone call from a homeowner stating that when she walked into her bedroom, her carpet was completely saturated. In a panic mode she went to get her neighbors, only to discover that they had saturated carpet as well. Knowing that wet carpet has roughly a twenty- four hour time period before odor and mildew set in, I knew that with the recent rain storm that night I was going to have to move quickly.

As I drove up to the building that evening I had already placed a call into Service Masters to inform them that I would need water extracted that evening, as well as fans and dehumidifiers, and that the following morning carpet would need to be removed. Little did I know that I would not have just two condos affected, I had five. The location of these five condos was in an area on a courtyard where stucco had recently been removed. The building's exposure allowed for water to pool up on the courtyard and simply flood the condos. The water damaged carpet, hardwoods, furniture, and sheetrock. It is amazing what damage water can do in a short period of time. Fortunately we were able to get everything taken care of in a speedy manner as I will elaborate on in part 2. In situations concerning water damage, quick action is a necessity. With water damage that is left unattended for 48 hours or more, the chance for mold problems to arise is astronomical. Even with a speedy clean up, I often recommend a mold inspection to ensure that all areas have been dried properly, and that no new problems have arisen.

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Do's and Don'ts During Flood Disasters

In some parts of the world like the Philippines, floods are recurring especially during a hurricane or heavy rain occurs. The health of the many is compromised because of the bad weather condition, as well as the flood that is happening but sometimes, health is on the back of their heads. One has to be extremely careful during calamities like floods to ensure their safety and health as well. Here are some health do's and don'ts and other survival tactics that you should remember whenever there is a flood.

Don't - Attempt to drink water that is kept in open containers like pails and glasses, especially those on the floor. These may be contaminated as well and drinking it will only give you diarrhea, poisoning and other illnesses worse than those mentioned. If you do feel thirsty, drink from a clean source of water like a purifier or water dispenser. As much as possible, you should not drink water from faucets whenever there is a flood.

Do - Wear boots if your house is flooded. Flood water can harbor harmful microorganisms from garbage bins and drainage systems. It may be infected with animal droppings, rotten food and dead pests like rats and you do not want this touching your skin. If you have any open wounds on your feet or legs, these harmful bacteria may enter your body which will endanger your health.

Don't - Attempt to swim in flood water. As mentioned, flood water contains so many harmful microorganisms that will enter your body. This time, it will not only enter through open wounds, but through your mouth and nose as well, causing you to take big gulps of contaminated water. It is better if you use a life raft or any safety survival gear to ride on or use instead of exposing your body.

Do - Wear clothes to keep you warm and dry. The last thing you would want during the flood is hypothermia and you can avoid this by wearing clothes made of thicker material. As much as possible, wear one that is waterproof as well because being wet can only add up to the chill you are currently feeling.

If there is a flood in your area or in your city, make sure that you prioritize not only your safety, but your health as well. Exercise those survival skills of yours to make sure that you do not further endanger yourself and others as well.

For more health tips, survival skills, and other related issues, read more of Jackson Vanderson's travel articles and blogs.

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