Proper preparation

One of the easiest ways to recover from a hurricane is proper preparation. This is no great surprise to most marinas in the Atlantic basin that are familiar with hurricane plans and preparing for storms. Although marinas have no control over the weather, they do have control over the amount of damage inflicted by the weather.

There is very little that can be done to fend off damages from a Category 5 Hurricane with a 25-foot storm surge. If Mother Nature comes with a punch like that, she will most certainly win that fight. Nevertheless, the marinas that were on the fringes of the eye of this year’s hurricanes said that planning and preparedness helped protect their properties from extensive damage.

A clearly defined hurricane plan was the one tool that helped most operators we spoke with. During the recent Florida hurricanes, these plans were excellent resources to keep employees focused on the tasks at hand. During preparations, a lot of distractions can take up valuable time, so the better the employees’ focus, the more time the marina manager can spend on details.

One operator that MMS spoke with recommended that marinas pre-arrange with service providers, especially at the beginning of the season, to provide services in the aftermath of a hurricane. A perfect example would be for a trash hauling company to show up the first available time after the storm to remove debris from the property. This would help free up parking lots and walkways from unsafe clutter and will open access to the facility. In one case, the trash hauler carted five large truckloads of debris from the water in one day, ranging from landscaping to floating debris.

Unfortunately, hurricanes attract less than desirable people to do less than desirable things, including lie, cheat and, most commonly, steal. Although human life comes first, marinas must arrange with their security team to stay until the winds hit 40 mph, and to return to the property as soon as possible after the storm. A physical presence sends a message to those driving around looking to take advantage of a disastrous situation.   Continue »