Contractors Are on the Front Lines of Rebuilding the Devastation Left by Hurricane Helene

By Andy Morrissey

Storm’s Lengthy Inland Reach Serves as a Warning for the Trades

A catastrophe teaches hard lessons in a hurry. The desolation from Hurricane Helene’s path through the Appalachian Mountains is a cautionary tale that contractors might want to learn from as a warming climate sets up the odds for dangerous storms that may reach farther inland than expected.

“I hope it doesn’t happen again in my lifetime, but … it’s just a matter of when for this to happen again,” said Michael Bailey, a plumbing contractor based in Asheville, North Carolina. “Those who survived and went through this, I guarantee you have made a plan for the next time.”

Bailey, with PlumbSmart Plumbing and Drainage, is on the board of directors for Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of North Carolina (PHCC). He spoke with Southern PHC about his experience and offered some guidance for other businesses about how to plan for and cope with a devastating event in areas where people believe they’re safe from massive storms.

Bailey said that in the days leading up to the storm, few people in the mountains of Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina were ready.

“Bad storms had hit the area before, but Bailey said no one thought they’d face so much wind and rain. Everybody was way under prepared.”

 

Forecasters See More Threats Ahead, But They’re Harder to Predict

Massive storms are forecasted to be an increasing threat in the Southeastern U.S., according to forecast models from the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The co-author of a recent study found that unusually warm waters along the Southeastern coast allow storms to become more powerful and carry more rain farther inland than in past decades. The conditions also make forecasting more difficult because the variability between storm frequency and power fluctuates much more widely between seasons.

This sets up scenarios when usually quiet hurricane storms could still create exceptionally dangerous hurricanes, which makes planning and preparation more complicated, said Hosmay Lopez, a researcher at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML).

“We have seen a spike in the year-to-year variation where we see more hyperactive seasons and at the same time, we see more quiet seasons,” he said. “So you have enhancement of the very active systems like 2005 and 2020 — and those are the very high impact seasons — which give you a lot of asymmetry when it comes to the impact and that puts a lot of stress not only on mitigation efforts, but also on insurance, on builders, and on plumbers.”

 

Climate Change Fuels More Severe Weather

What’s driving the change is climate change, with the atmosphere becoming warmer more quickly than was observed in global data. Lopez said the causes are complex, with natural factors like solar activity and volcanoes contributing. The buildup of carbon dioxide caused by rapid industrialization then adds an additional layer of warming that plays out in unexpected ways.

Warmer air can hold more water vapor, resulting in as much as 15% more rainfall in a storm than in the past. Lopez said storms also slow down because of the additional moisture, dumping massive amounts of rain in the same area.

Researchers based their data on past hurricane seasons that captured satellite imagery to track storms, and then modeled forecasts to 2050. The research article was published in the science journal Science Advances.

 

Devastation Slows Down Response for Contractors

When Helene hit, Bailey watched as heavy rain and high winds leveled trees and powerlines. The region had already been saturated with two days of rainfall before Helene hit, so when inches and inches of torrential rain came through, rivers turned into machines of destruction. Roads and bridges were swept away. Homes floated off their foundations and were torn apart by the power of the water.

Once the worst had passed, Bailey’s first thought was for the safety of his coworkers at Plumb Smart Plumbing & Drains. He could reach crew members sporadically as cell service was spotty and unstable, but all except two were accounted for. “That was the first time in my 32 years of being alive that I’ve never been able to pick up a landline or a cell phone and call somebody.”

Feeling urgency to check on folks, he used his excavator to move trees out of his own home. He took it with him and used it a few days later to open a road to a coworker’s house, communicating through an emergency contact. Bailey’s team went to the homes of a couple staff to check on them and deliver water from the shop.

The volume of water tore through structures and rivers. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Leticia Samuels.

Floodwaters inundated sections of Asheville, North Carolina. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Leticia Samuels.

Debris left by Helene affected rebuilding work. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Leticia Samuels.

How to Function Without a Phone

The next step was to find a way to reach customers. The company’s customer relationship platform could handle incoming customer calls. Plumb Smart’s dispatcher, Dana, had relocated to Charlotte, where she had Internet access and could get some calls through. She drew up a master sheet of customer needs, which helped Bailey’s team develop solutions back in Asheville. In some cases, a crew member was sent out to see whether they could even reach the site where repairs were needed to at least give people potable water.

Water service for Asheville was knocked out when the line from the North Fork Reservoir was washed out from floodwaters spilling from the dam — which held. Utility crews from other cities were called in to work on infrastructure, but a patch on the main line collapsed, which meant a whole new water main had to be built, along with a road to access it. The reservoir supplies 80% of Asheville’s water.

As the list for jobs grew, repairs were categorized so that water could be restored for homes and businesses that were in critical states. Bailey’s crew set up 500 to 1,000 gallon tanks for businesses, such as dental or medical offices, and then hooked up jet pumps and lines to let potable water pressurize the lines. Local water trucks filled the tanks and backflow devices were installed to prevent contamination.

As the scope of work expanded, contact with municipalities was crucial so that repairs met standards, and on-site filtration became a growing need to protect water quality.

“When we went and made that first supply run to Hendersonville, where we could actually get the phone signal out, we called all of our filter suppliers and we said send until we tell you not to send,” Bailey said.

Contractors were dealing with local, federal and state agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to stay abreast of changes in code requirements and repair methods. Many were just as overwhelmed as the contracting companies.

 

Contractors Work Together to Share Resources

Collaboration with other companies became standard, he added. Some companies were wiped out, but others could share workers, equipment and supplies. Relationships within PHCC came into play as contractors across the state stepped in to help.

Bailey’s company maintains an in-house warehouse, but the inventory wasn’t big enough to meet needs. Distributors were also hit hard, which meant a truck had to be sent to them in areas that didn’t sustain as much damage. The turnaround trip took about three hours a day. Another company, ran by state PHCC board member Mark Bolton with Bolton Construction and Service of WNC Inc., had a bigger site where materials could be stockpiled, which went beyond plumbing needs. PHCC contractors from other areas stopped at bigbox retailers and donated supplies for community needs, such as fuel, diapers and blankets.

Figuring out how to bill customers and pay for supplies was also an issue because there was no internet service or communication system working very well. Services were delivered at no cost because Bailey said contractors took their role of rebuilding in their communities personally.

“We were all just in a state of, ‘Let’s get everybody helped and get people what they need and we’ll worry about (thin finances) on the backside.’”

The company’s owner, Don Hilderbrand, was in Florida at the time, which proved beneficial because he could stream resources back to Asheville to help the community and the company’s workers with such basics such as diapers, gas and water. The company also had a system in place to cover the base pay for employees if the payroll couldn’t be processed.

 

Safety is First in Mind at Contaminated Sites

For the workers in the field, another challenge emerged with the degree of contamination in the work sites they were entering. Protective equipment was needed in many cases because water had potentially dangerous materials in confined spaces.

As time passed, routines returned somewhat to normal, balancing emergency repairs with regular jobs. However, Bailey said that huge swell in help from outside waned as companies had to return to serve their own customer bases.

Bailey estimates it’ll take four years to rebuild from damage, and possibly another four to meet the demands of a growing population. Asheville is a popular destination because of its climate, culture and location.

Reflecting on the experience of Helene, Bailey said the biggest lesson he learned was for contractors, crews and the community to work together. Build relationships in other areas and states to create a network to contribute and call on when a disaster happens, which in the case of Helene continues to threaten lives and property.

“If there’s anything to take away, I hope Asheville and the surrounding counties is to be that person. It was the day after and you’re just trying to help. If we can keep that mentality around here we will do great.”

Here are key lessons learned by PHCC-NC board member Michael Bailey for contractors to be better prepared before a devastating storm hits.

Develop a communications plan for staff that factors in scenarios where phone service is unavailable.

Set up a way for customers to call and leave messages. National customer relations systems can take calls or forward them to mobile phones.

Designate a meeting spot for staff that will likely remain accessible after extensive flooding and wind damage.

Position equipment for immediate use or easy accessibility.

Establish relationships through trade associations like PHCC, or build a network of contacts with other contractors and distributors in the region to call for help from less damaged areas.

Set aside six months of payroll, if you can.

NOAA Climate.gov

Data: CW3E, adapted from schematic by J. Cordeira

NOAA Climate.gov

Data: NOAA GOES-16

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