Recent major storms caused significant damage to retail stores, some of which are still assessing damage or recovering. It is estimated Hurricane Harvey caused around $1 billion in damage to retail stores across Texas and Louisiana, and Hurricane Irma caused nearly $2.8 billion to retail stores in Florida, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Bahamas. To help retail facilities managers assess the status of their stores following such natural disasters, the “Natural Disaster – Initial Property Damage Survey” is now available from the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM).
The form can be used to determine the severity of damage and to prioritize recovery team efforts should multiple locations be impacted by a hurricane, earthquake, flood, or fire. It includes preliminary questions about building accessibility and damage, and equipment. It also includes a place to record supplier company estimated time of arrival, and much more. The form can also be customized, and allows facilities managers to add or delete items on the checklist.
“So many natural disasters have occurred in the last few months, and we wanted to help our members be better prepared in the future,” said Bill Yanek, PRSM CEO. “This form will make it easy for FMs to thoroughly evaluate damage to their facilities and recover quicker.”
PRSM’s Resources Center provides management tools exclusively for the Retail FM and supplier community, including quarterly white papers on leading industry issues; the annual Best Practices Book that covers a wide spectrum of FM industry trades; and the Retail Facilities Benchmarking program.
