Weather -The $42 billion hit to the bottom line...and counting

If the freakish weather in the latter half of August - Noah-like rain on the 14th, a rare earthquake on the 22nd and, of course, Irene - did not convince you that weather-related conditions are the #1 emergency cost to building owners, perhaps the facts will: 2011 losses before the August deluge, earthquake and Irene were estimated at $35 billion. The day after Irene had eased into Canada, damage was estimated at $7 billion...and the latest news accounts report the total property loss could be as high as $20 billion. The number of natural disasters in the U.S. has tripled in the last 20 years and 2010 broke all records - even more than the year of Katrina. Sadly, after Irene, and with four months ahead of us, we have already broken 2010's record while setting another: New York City is the only major city in the U.S. to experience an earthquake, tornado, blizzard and tropical storm in the course of one year. BOMA/NY's weather subcommittee of our preparedness committee was formed earlier this year to tackle the ramifications of weather and took the innovative approach of focusing our entire Annual Conference and Trade Show on Mother Nature, exploring the costs, liabilities, and full range of economic, legal and insurance-related components. Bringing you the latest information will be the founder of AccuWeather and experts from the fields of insurance, law, building codes and building ownership. "We'll also be assessing how we handled Irene and the lessons learned," said John Brandstetter, who heads the weather subcommittee. "The damage caused by this hurricane, on top of a very active year in property damage, will undoubtedly increase insurance rates. We'll be addressing how our members can minimize increased rates and other factors by being proactive." Helping us to launch our event will be City Council speaker Christine Quinn, who was asked to speak on how capital improvements to our infrastructure are vital for New York's future growth, but will also be discussing the City's response to Irene. As Speaker since 2006, Quinn has taken on a wide range of issues from updating and greening the New York City Building and Construction Code, to improving New York City's economy. The conference is targeted to all levels of management and features the following: * Mike Smith, founder of Accuweather/senior meteorologist * Insurance: FM Global * Legal: John Osborn, Esq., John E. Osborn P.C. * Structural: Gary Mancini, P.E., LEED AP, Thornton Tomasetti * Building Code: Michael Alacha, PE, Assistant Commissioner for Engineering & Emergency Operations, NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) * Building Owner: Hani Salama, PE, LEED AP, Sr. VP of property management and operations, Monday Properties Your e-vites for the conference, trade show exhibitor/sponsorship materials, and the networking reception that follows, have already been emailed. If you have any questions, please contact Sylvester Giustino at [email protected].