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Metro Creative Connection

Spring can deliver severe weather surprises

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Wed, Mar 31st 2021 09:45 am

Local SERVPRO property damage restoration specialist offers property owners tips about possible hazards and advance planning tools

Grassroots Newswire – Spring brings warmer weather, longer days and a much-anticipated break from winter. It also brings a very real threat of severe weather, according to disaster recovery specialist Chris Christodoulides of SERVPRO of north Niagara County.

"The frequent change in cold and warm temperatures in spring creates an elevated risk for severe weather across the country," Christodoulides said. "Ranging from flooding rain in the Northwest to thunderstorms and tornadoes in the Southeast, spring weather can be unpredictable at best and downright dangerous at worst.

"When you give some thought to the types of hazards a spring storm could produce, you can begin to plan for the safety of your family as well as your home or business.”

Depending on where one lives, here are some of the ways a spring storm might damage a home or business:

√ Water damage caused by flooding from melting snow, foundation washouts from coastal storms, frozen pipes that burst, sump pumps that fail during power outages, torrential downpours, or faulty air conditioning condensation lines during a heat wave.

√ Fire damage caused by use of alternate emergency heat sources, sprinkler systems that fail due to freezing pipes, downed power lines, or environmental conditions leading to structure fires.

√ Wind damage caused by fallen trees and limbs, damage to siding and roofs, and downed power lines.

"Of course, most of these hazards don't happen in isolation," Christodoulides said. "For example, tornadoes and violent thunderstorms put property owners at risk for water, fire and wind damage. It's important to understand which hazards might affect your property and your family, and then take the proper steps to prepare."

Christodoulides suggested investigating resources available online from the U.S. government's "Ready" program at https://www.ready.gov/severe-weather, and other free tools such as the SERVPRO READY app at https://ready.servpro.com/home/mobileapp. Home and business owners can use this app to store essential contact and property information electronically, and then access it in seconds with a mobile device.

Local business owners who also designate SERVPRO of north Niagara County as their disaster mitigation and restoration provider can gain peace of mind from a no-cost assessment of their facility conducted by SERVPRO professionals, who then assist the owner in completing a comprehensive Emergency READY Profile (ERP) to be stored in the READY app.

"Because it's difficult to predict when severe weather will strike – or what form it may take – it's important to plan in advance," Christodoulides said.

SERVPRO is an industry leader and provider of fire, water and wind cleanup and restoration services. For more information about weather-related damage restoration services, visit www.servpro.com. For more information on SERVPRO of north Niagara County, contact Christodoulides at 716-299-0330 or [email protected].

Founded in 1967, SERVPRO is a leader and provider of fire and water cleanup and restoration services, mold mitigation and biohazard remediation. SERVPRO's professional services network of more than 1,900 individually owned and operated franchises responds to property damage emergencies ranging from small individual disasters to multimillion-dollar large-loss events. Providing coverage in the U.S. and Canada, the SERVPRO system has established relationships with major insurance companies and commercial clients, as well as individual homeowners.

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