Marina Post Storm Damage Assessment and Prioritization of Reconstruction and Repair Activities

摘要

Marina vulnerability and damage in hurricane prone areas now extends across a range of considerations including the marina facility, financial issues, insurance issues, permitting agency issues, along with the anxiety and strain on management and staff. These issues need to be put in perspective upon returning to the marina. The complexity of the decision process requires a regimented approach to address changing priorities and to keep focused on the important goals. In additional to the obvious physical damage, the marina owner/operator soon finds that external or regional factors cloud important decisions on what to do upon return after the storm. The marina owner's decisions, priorities, staff assignments and schedules on how to handle boat owners, contractors and insurers follow closely after the primary concerns for staff and client safety. While each marina is different, a generalized approach is suggested as a guide to assist owners in putting damage and repair issues in perspective. The author is a Professional Engineer in Charleston, South Carolina and conducted surveys of damage to marinas in the coastal areas of North and South Carolina and Puerto Rica after Hurricane Hugo. He has continued to study hurricane effects on marinas after Hurricanes Andrew, Fran, etc. He has participated in the evaluation, assessment and redesign of hurricane damaged marinas. This paper presents a programmed approach to evaluation of safety concerns, environmental permit concerns, dock and ancillary structures damage, boat damage, boat owner control, utilities, contractor selection, construction phasing, insurance and news media control while the damaged marina is trying to recover and rebuild.