Is Your Texas COA or HOA Ready For Extreme Weather?

In this quick 4 part series, we'll explore overall emergency management and three extreme weather scenarios to prepare your Texas property, condo, or homeowners association for emergency conditions.  First up? Emergency Management & Preparedness.



Emergency Management: The most important part of any extreme weather situation is to have a plan.  During a crisis, what tasks should be completed by residents, association board members and your management company?  While each association’s plan should include the unique needs of their community, here are some highlights.

What to do if you are a…

Resident:  Develop an emergency plan with your family, and make sure everyone knows what to do and where to go. Prepare an emergency “go” bag with essential supplies, like water bottles, protein bars, copies of identity and insurance papers, flashlights, and first aid supplies. Don’t ignore emergency broadcasts. Make sure that your management company has a contact email or phone number for you so they can send emergency updates.

Board Member: Consider building an Emergency Action Plan (EAP).  Discuss what to do in various emergencies and include key contacts as well as copies of critical documents.  Investigate to see if your association insurance covers “acts of nature”, as many plans do not. Contact vendors in advance to book post-storm service dates.  Most of all, make sure that you have consistently educated your residents about the risks of dangerous storms and how to respond.

Property Management Company: A good company will have helped you develop an emergency communication plan to assist residents using a system that can send texts, emails and phone calls. They should have the manpower and resources to coordinate vendor assistance, clean-up crews, and insurance claims to minimize disruption of service.
 

Keep Reading for
Extreme Weather in Texas: Part 2 - Are you prepared for a Tornado?