HOUSTON—Floods can be devastating and put an end user out of business for a long period of time. Now that the worst is over, business owners are assessing damage, and the clean-up and repair has begun. JLL has assessed its properties and recently commented on its findings about damage.

“We manage approximately 10 office buildings and close to 40 industrial buildings in the Houston area. We had one case of some flooding in the basement of a building but otherwise we were fortunate to experience only slight impacts, such as minor leaks and temporary power outages, in just a few of our buildings,” Peyton Collins, JLL managing director, property management, tells GlobeSt.com. “Our team worked diligently to resolve any and all issues last week. All of our buildings are open, operational and available for use by our tenants.”

JLL Houston president Dan Bellow spoke more about the overall mood of the city and the high level of commitment to get back to full operations as quickly as possible.

“The people of Houston are resilient, as is our business community, and we are getting back to work this week,” Bellow tells GlobeSt.com. “The general sense is that office properties were largely untouched and that most companies are back on line or will be back to full operations very shortly. Our office market is composed of well-positioned quality constructed buildings. No city is or should be designed to accommodate a once-in-a-thousand-year flood. The notion that we can get back to work so quickly after the largest natural disaster to strike the United States is a testament to the resiliency of our people and our businesses.”

With regard to getting back to “normal,” the city is making the rounds for debris pickup. The Houston solid waste management department is asking residents to remove all parked vehicles from the streets when debris crews are working. If heavy trucks are unable to pass safely along the streets, the city will not be able to remove the debris.

The waste management department says debris needs to be placed close to the side of the road away from mailboxes, trees, meters, fire hydrants and other structures, leaving access to the roadway. Storm debris will be collected on an ongoing basis until further notice.

Debris placed at the curb should be separated into the following piles: leaves, logs, plants and tree branches (do not bag); construction and demolition material–carpet, drywall, furniture, lumber and mattresses; appliances and water heaters; electronics (basically anything with a cord); and household hazardous waste–cleaning supplies, batteries, lawn chemical, oils, oil-based paints, stains and pesticides.

Once clean-up efforts are complete and repairs are determined, flood doors may be considered if not previously installed as a dependable defense against storms, hurricanes and flooding.

One manufacturer of flood protection barriers and industrial doors has provided products for a variety of industries, including the military, oil and gas, agriculture, food processing and all types of manufacturing. PS Flood Barriers' customers include NASA, the United Nations, Miller-Coors, Con Edison, Grainger, Xcel Energy and New York City Transit Authority.

PS learned about the incredible power of water firsthand during the Red River's devastating flood of 1997 in its hometown of Grand Forks, ND. And, as a result of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Con Edison, with electricity, gas and steam service to more than 10 million people in New York City and Westchester County, needed to improve its flood protection efforts in facilities where gas pipes surfaced.

Instant Insights /

Crews Focus on Clean-Up and Assessing Damage

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