Disaster Recovery: Commercial Property Recovers from Flash Flood in Two-Week

Brief background

A flash flood significantly impacted the commercial property, which consisted of multiple office towers, severely disrupting business operations. The Property management team could restore operations in two weeks after the incident.

Preliminary Assessments

Flash floods are uncommon in the given geographic region, and the incident happened after a gap of 75 years. Unfortunately, the Property Management team wasn’t trained to handle emergencies of this nature and needed to have documented guidelines for responding to such events. The floodwater had risen to the ceiling height and inundated the ground and basements. The cars parked in the basements were floating, and the electrical switchgear was submerged underwater. The HVAC and water pumping plant rooms were also flooded to near-ceiling levels.

Immediate actions

Communication was initiated with the leads of each business unit through electronic media. Key stakeholders of critical technical space were intimated about the nature and extent of damages due to flooding water ingress into utility plants. All power, fuel and water connections were immediately shut off upon observing a rapid rise in water level throughout the property. Elevators inspected and stationed at higher floor levels. Key service providers for utilities such as elevators, captive diesel generator sets, and electrical and HVAC systems were contacted for necessary resource planning. All occupants present in the towers were contacted at group and individual levels. Occupants were advised to stay in their nearest safe location till the rescue team arrived. Local government authorities were also contacted for support in evacuating office employees stranded in towers.

Emergency Response Team (ERT)

ERT consisted of senior management members from the Property Management team, Lead members of ERT of each business unit operating from the property and critical service partners and vendors.

Financial and Procurement Controls
Back-end support of the Finance and Procurement team was ensured with senior management members on board for due process approval under emergencies.

Infrastructure damage and needs assessment.

Muddy slush was deposited all over the property’s ground and basement levels. The Electrical power switchgear, pumping station, and many other electronic systems and sub-systems submerged in water were damaged beyond recoverable condition. The underground diesel storage tanks were lifted off the ground, connecting pipes damaged and were afloat in the flood water.

Resource management
Teams of 3-4 maintenance members were formed and assigned specific tasks to recover the building system and sub-systems after a water-related incident. Industrial dewatering pumps were deployed on the site, which helped in pumping out water within 72-96 hours. After the dewatering process, the top priority was to resume the office units’ critical services, such as water and electricity. Potable water tankers, mobile diesel generator sets, and air conditioning units were brought to the site to restore water and electricity supply to the floors in each tower. To cater to the office space cooling needs at the earliest, industrial-scale air conditioning equipment was provided on-site for the interim period of complete revamping of the central cooling plant.

Incident Management
Major affected areas such as internal roads, drainage, building facade, rainwater storage and disposal, Sewage Treatment Plant, and equipment were noted. A dedicated team was assigned to do the insurance documentation work for damaged equipment, building systems, and sub-systems. Electrical switchgear, Circuit breakers, alarm and protection systems were replaced. Repaired elements were tested and calibrated for redeployment.

Major issues dealt with
• Repair, reinstallation, functional tests, and safety integrity tests of underground diesel storage tanks were carried out by local statutory requirements. Licensed service providers were engaged in conducting safety tests and commissioning.
• Diesel generator sets were cleaned, dried, and repaired by an OEM-authorized service team.
• Professional teams cleaned, dried, repaired, and replaced damaged switchgear. Electrical power cable networks and switchgear were tested for integrity and safety according to electrical systems code requirements.
• For landscaping, several measures have been taken to prevent flooding. These include the installation of flood gates and catch drainage at the basement parking ramp, an overhead cover at the ramp entrance, and a solution for preventing backflow from the central and arterial drainage network running through the property. These measures aim to ensure that similar flooding incidents do not recur.
• A professional team checked the integrity of the MEP service openings in the building walls and water ingress around the exterior façade glass sealant and framework, and repairs were carried out.

Actionable recommendations
• Flash floods, though rare, are not unexpected in the region. The property management team need to be trained for the Emergency Response program.
• Critical environment management requires scenario mapping, disaster recovery policy, strategy, and process documentation and dissemination to all property management team members and stakeholders.
• The property management team has to adopt reliability-centred maintenance, ensuring improved availability and business continuity for the tenants.
• Transparent communication and coordination with stakeholders in the property will ensure a practical approach to disaster recovery.
• Communication, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration are essential to disaster recovery.