In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Yardi quickly established relief resources for clients and a donation platform for employees. To date, Yardi employees have contributed thousands of dollars to disaster relief efforts. The Yardi Foundation will match these employee contributions. Thurs far, Yardi has donated a significant chunk of its $1 million foundation pledge to the following organizations: ShelterBox USA specializes in emergency, temporary shelter for families displaced by natural disasters and conflict. The organization estimates that about 85 million people around the world have been made homeless by adverse natural and political conditions. Houston Food Bank leads the fight against hunger by facilitating food access for all. Last fiscal year, the Houston Food Bank distributed 83,000,000 nutritious meals through local organizations. Nearly 20 counties benefit from Houston Food Bank services. OneStar Foundation has partnered with the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation to rebuild Texas. The organizations set a goal to raise $100 million through concerts, special events, and other fundraisers. To date, the Rebuild Texas Fund has received $68.6 million to help with Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts. Southeast Texas Food Bank partners with over 130 non-profit agencies in eight counties. The non-profits provide approximately 90,000 meals to people in need each month. Greater Houston Community Foundation is one of the largest grant makers in the region. The Foundation helps donor direct their contributions towards causes that will have profound impact. One grant, the Mayor Turner and County Judge Emmett Establish Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, has raised more than $67,400,400. Coastal Bend Food Banks, formerly Food Bank of Corpus Christi, offers two family programs and three programs that are targeted towards kids and teens. In addition to food security, the organization focuses on nutrition education. St. Bernard Project shrinks the time between disaster and recovery. The...

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Congress has approved a $15.25 billion disaster aid package for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). An additional package for Hurricane Irma recovery is likely under deliberation. The approved funds will contribute to, yet not cover, emergency assistance for regions of Texas and Louisiana overcome by Hurricane Harvey. The total funds needed for recovery may exceed $50 billion, according to analysts. The Gulf Coast of Texas received an unprecedented 50 inches of rain in less than four days. Homeland Security reports the loss of at least 70 lives and the destruction of more than 100,000 homes. Nearly 42 percent of Texans live in areas covered by the disaster proclamation. Beyond the Storm After Hurricane Allison, the 2014 City of Houston drainage study revealed that many of Houston’s poorest communities were inadequately prepared for “even modest storm events.” The National Community Reinvestment Coalition published a statement and map that shows the correlation between high-risk flood zones and communities of color. CNN reports that the city council approved $10 million to reduce drainage issues. Texas Housers and the Texas Organization Project claim that the City of Houston did not take action to protect its residents or mitigate the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Dam releases contributed to the devastation. On Monday, the US Army Corps of Engineers began to release water from the Addicks and Barker dams. The assumption was that the neighborhoods could better manage the water with controlled releases than uncontrolled overflow from the dams. Flood control officials in Harris County estimate that hundreds of properties flooded as a result of the controlled releases. Seeking Shelter Housing is the leading priority for disaster recovery specialists. Red Cross and partner associations opened 240 shelters in Texas and six shelters in Louisiana....

When Hurricane Irma devastated a string of Caribbean islands and loomed off the coast of Florida, it had been less than two weeks since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in southeast Texas, displacing thousands of people from their homes. Irma was the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane ever recorded. It triggered evacuation orders for 5.6 million people and made two landfalls before being downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday, September 11. For a second time this summer, our team members mobilized for a natural disaster response. Having recently created a housing website to help those affected by Harvey find temporary and permanent homes, we used this experience to quickly launch another dedicated housing registry to assist residents displaced by Irma. Leveraging our RENTCafé property marketing and leasing platform, RentCafe.com/HurricaneIrma allows displaced residents to find new housing. It also makes it possible for housing providers with properties in the affected and surrounding areas to quickly and easily list available units, some with special concessions. There is no charge for companies to list their properties on the website or for residents to use it. There is also a toll-free hotline that evacuees can call seeking housing assistance if internet is not available. The hotline can be reached at (844) 363-6317. With many clients in the affected areas, we’re offering disaster response assistance for clients affected by either hurricane, including additional program support and tools to help clients communicate with their residents during the aftermath. Taking care of our clients is a critical part of the Yardi mission statement, and representatives are reaching out now to offer these and other services at no charge. “The best-case scenario for everyone is that our disaster response efforts remain untested, but we have them in place so that we can aid...

Viral photo of flooded assisted-living facility  in Houston demonstrates importance of disaster preparedness for senior living communities. With so many heartbreaking images of the devastation visited upon Houston by Hurricane Harvey, the photo of residents of the La Vita Bella assisted-living center in Dickinson stands out. The photo, which depicts several seniors submerged in murky, waist-high flood waters, triggered outrage after gaining widespread attention on Twitter and other social media outlets. By Sunday afternoon, an evacuation was underway, with all the eventually relocated to a nearby nursing home. With a new photo of the now safe and dry residents now making the rounds online, questions still linger regarding the delay in emergency services, with some of the resident’s family members telling CNN they were forced to post the photo on Twitter in an attempt to trigger a rescue effort. “They were basically told no one was coming because they couldn’t reach them,” Kim McIntosh, mother of resident Trudy Lampson, told CNN. “That’s when we decided to go ahead and tweet the photos.” Preparing For Disaster While the situation at La Vita Bella is, hopefully, an extreme example, the catastrophe triggered by Hurricane Harvey serves as yet another reminder of the importance of disaster preparedness. As Jay Shelton, Senior Vice President, at Assurance Risk Management, writes in a December 2015 issue of Senior Housing Business, “The best time to write one of these plans is, frankly, yesterday.” “Without prior planning, you leave your organization open to financial disaster,” he continues, “especially if you are forced to close operations for a period of time. In addition, without a proper plan to cope with a disaster, your facility may face lawsuits from vendors, employees or residents’ families claiming negligence.” Prioritize and Delegate When developing an emergency preparedness...

Hurricane season is upon us, and it will linger until the end of November. Fortunately for the continental US, the storms seem to have forgotten their curtain call! It’s unlikely that their delay will last forever, though. Use this downtime to make sure that your residents are prepared for nature’s fury. Make hurricane preparedness fun! While written information is helpful, it’s unlikely that residents will read it thoroughly and commit it to memory. What they will remember is a fun game night. Consider hosting a trivia night (one for families and a separate event for adults if your budget can swing it). Games make life-saving lessons memorable and prizes are a good incentive that boosts participation. Think of your prizes as an opportunity. Practical prizes can be fun if they look cool enough. A roll of duct tape is always helpful but it has zero aesthetic appeal, right? A snazzy water bottle with built-in filter, rugged multitool, and a cleverly designed LED flashlight are more eye-catching and still useful. The grand prize could include a complete preparedness kit, which has significant monetary value and can also save lives. Bonus: such utilitarian expenses are more easily approved by your controller. Get creative! Post evacuation plans. Make sure that building evacuation plans are clearly posted on each floor of each building. Also consider emailing residents a copy of the city evacuation routes. It’s unlikely that they will bother looking at it when you send it, but they may just save it for future references. Danger begins with the surge. Think projectiles and high winds are a hurricane’s greatest threats? Guess again. Storm surges take more lives than winds and debris. A storm surge can exceed 20 feet. That’s a wall of water two stories high; most...

With hurricane season in full swing on both coasts, we can all benefit from a refresher on hurricane preparedness for properties and residents. According to the National Weather Service, last year was relatively calm for hurricanes and tropical storms with property damages totaling just over $10 million. That’s a significant amount yet pales in comparison to $172 million in damages in 2012 and billions in recovery costs. Even the most basic planning can prevent costly property damage as well as injury and loss of life. Community safety tips Make sure that employees and residents are familiar with building-specific and community evacuation routes. It’s difficult to host community drills, so a push notification delivered via smartphone, article in the monthly newsletter, or social media post may draw the most attention. In high rise buildings, it is conventional knowledge to evacuate residents to lower floors, where wind conditions are more favorable. But be mindful of flood levels, informing residents to congregate on the appropriate floor that is above threat of water damage and below the worst wind. Interior rooms with fewer windows are favorable to exterior rooms. Keep shrubs and hedges trimmed. Top-heavy plants have a parachute effect in high winds. Keeping them trimmed low can minimize their ability to take flight. Call professional arborists to remove damaged or decaying limbs from trees even if they are not directly over buildings.  Branches and limbs are projectiles during hurricanes, increasing the likelihood of injuries and damages. Close the pool and bring in any accessories and patio furniture that are not bolted down. In addition to regular wear and tear during storms, these items may become  dangerous projectiles. Ensure that gutters and clean and repaired, especially as fall leaves become more plentiful. A simple clog can exacerbate flooding....