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Back-to-back weather disasters have left thousands along the East Coast in a state of ruin. Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Northwestern Florida on Sept. 26, worked its way upward throughout Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee leaving unprecedented rainfall and flooding in its path. Helene’s high winds and flooding killed more than 230 people, making it the deadliest hurricane to strike the U.S. since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017.

Just over one week later, Hurricane Milton made landfall around Siesta Key, Florida as a category three storm. Leaving approximately 1.3 million people without power, Milton cause a cascade of more than 30 tornadoes throughout Florida before making landfall, killing at least 17 people, according to news outlets.

Unfortunately, these unprecedented weather events won’t be the last. While climate change doesn’t account for a higher number of total hurricanes, the strength and speed at which storms are forming is certainly increasing. Storms forming today are more likely to be more intense, with higher wind speeds, heavier rainfall and more severe storm surge. And while number of overall hurricanes is not higher, the number of hurricanes that actually make landfall with the U.S. is larger. Warmer Atlantic Ocean temperatures are to blame for the more adverse effects of hurricanes lately. With the possibility of stronger, more frequent storms looming, PHCP-PVF manufacturers, distributors and contractors need to be prepared.

In the path of the storm

Del-Air Plumbing, Air Conditioning and Electric has eight locations throughout Central and Northern Florida, including Clermont, Davenport, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Sanford, Sarasota, Tampa and Vero Beach. Following Hurricane Milton, the contracting company’s Sarasota location experienced some flooding while the Tampa building, while mostly intact, experienced some heavy wind damage.

“We're a safety first company, so our first priority is obviously going to be our families, our teammates, their families, and then the community and their families as well,” says Steve Ramthun, vice president of residential service and replacement for Del-Air Plumbing, Air Conditioning and Electric. “We have a hurricane preparation list that we’re accustomed to. So, leading up to the storm, there’s several meetings and discussions around actions and itme frames. We are very, very well prepared. We’ve got a large coverage area here in the state of Florida, and I believe we're well prepared to assist the community as we begin to pick up the pieces.”

Ramthun says that the company’s property damage is the least of Del-Air’s concerns at this point. Out of Del-Air’s more than 700 employees, roughly 10% are dealing with major damage. Additionally, several employees were in evacuation zones and haven’t been able to return home as of Oct. 11. Ramthun notes overall, they were very fortunate.

“We can pick up the pieces — we’ll patch the business,” he says. “We’re not really concerned about that at the moment. We have some teammates who were affected — roofs missing, trees falling on cars, etc. You need to have to have a bilateral approach because we have to make sure that we're taking care of our own families, our teammates and their families. Our job here is to serve the community. Our approach is pretty simple, we have a standard check in process. Folks who are unaffected by the storm, we’re quick to mobilize them and get them out to serve the community. Folks who are impacted by the storm on our team, we’re quick to send help and get them back to normal. We take a bilateral approach to make sure we’re tackling both sides.”

With the influx of calls from the community, Del-Air has been prioritizing dispatching for the elderly, those who require medical equipment and membership customers.

“We have a huge membership base in Florida with over 24,000 members,” Ramthun says. “As a benefit to being a member, those folks are prioritized, but we still have tons of capacity for same-day customers no matter their status. We like to go through a couple of simple checks — does the home have power? We can’t get the air conditioner running if there’s no power to the home, right? We also have sent hundreds of emails and text messages to our customer base — anybody who has ever done business with us — offering a free inspection of equipment to ensure it is safe to operate before turning things on.”

For Nexstar Network, a plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractor best practice group, who had both staff and contractor members in the path of both Helene and Milton, preparedness ahead of the fact is key. The organization coaches contractors on natural disaster preparation procedures and offers members a natural disaster recovery guide.

“Three days prior, we reach out to make sure we have good contact information, because ultimately, we want to ensure our employees and members in that area know that we are alongside them,” says Julian Scadden, president and CEO of Nexstar Network. “In situations of emergency, in the flood to offer support or help, we can actually get in the way of support or help. We had one of our employees respond to our staff, he said, ‘Thanks for all the help. Point of love right now, what I need you guys to do is just stand down. I’ll reach out [if I need anything].’ Because the number of texts, phone calls and emails they’re receiving can be overwhelming.

“We want to stay behind-the-scenes,” he continues. “If there’s an immediate need that we have the ability to help resolve, we take action. If we’re unsure what to do, we just make sure prior to the event, we clearly articulate the areas of opportunity and that we have the best phone numbers in the event of emergency. We sent out a pre- and post-checklist email to our members to remind them to look at it some call center scripting points. We provide more of a framework of the conversations, and what we offer year-round, is that they should be building this preparedness into their business. We have a whole lesson on that — how to be prepared and when, or if, an extreme situation happens, we can help in the moment. But we really like to equip our people prior to the event.”

Coming together for a cause

Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association addressed hurricane recovery efforts in two general sessions at its annual CONNECT conference and tradeshow, held in Birmingham, Alabama, from Oct. 7-9. Gathering in person at CONNECT also gave attendees the opportunity to learn how members in the Southeast states are faring after recent hurricanes. PHCC is a community that cares for each other, and — as Zone 2 Director Jeff Voss detailed in a special message to attendees — PHCC members have been reaching out and helping those impacted.

PHCC of North Texas Executive Director Alicia Baron and PHCC of Virginia Executive Director Susan Milhoan shared how their chapters have stepped up to help North Carolina members affected by the hurricanes. Each member in Virginia has donated one tech to help out in western North Carolina when conditions improve there, and PHCC of North Texas has donated $3,000 in assistance. The chapter executives challenged other PHCC members to contribute in some way, as well.

PHCC advised members if they would like to provide assistance to those impacted, donations could be directed to the American Red Cross or Samaritan’s Purse. PHCC North Carolina has also established a relief fund. These funds are used to buy specific supplies and deliver them directly to members who are working to get their communities up and running again. 

Additionally, PHCC’s Disaster Relief Fund is available to assist PHCC members in need as a result of hurricane damage. Click here for more information.

In the aftermath of these two storms, numerous PHCP businesses across the country are doing their part to help. Headquartered in Georgia, Rinnai America knew it needed to support its local communities and surrounding areas post-hurricane.

“During times of crisis like Hurricane Helene and Milton, we were able to leverage the persistence of the Rinnai team to support communities impacted by the storms here in the Southeast. In leaning into our organization’s priority to encourage community involvement, Rinnai America is partnering with the Midwest Food Bank on the assembly of 2,080 family food boxes and collection of 2,080 rolls of toilet paper and 2,080 rolls of paper towels,” says Alexis Davis, vice president, human resources at Rinnai. “We are so inspired by the resilience of the community and grateful to all of our team members engaged in this rapid response. Our thoughts and prayers remain with all families impacted, first responders, and volunteers.”

Also local to Georgia, Rheem Water Heaters is doing its part by quickly dispatching units to its wholesaler and contractor partners for use in applications such as tents that serve both hurricane victims and first responders in the affected areas.

Additionally, Rheem is spearheading efforts in collaboration with Samaritan’s Purse through Rheem’s Parts Division based in North Carolina, and the company has plans to launch a Disaster Relief Rebate Program that will be available in FEMA-declared disaster areas. This program will help make the recovery process easier by offering rebates on Rheem product installations, giving homeowners some financial relief as they rebuild.

On this distribution side, wholesalers in affected areas are committed to remaining open and available to contractors as repair parts are in high demand.

“As long as it’s safe, our branch associates and Florida distribution center stand ready to assist Florida communities with the solutions they need for emergency repair as they start rebuilding their homes, businesses and the community,” says Christine Dwyer senior director of communications and public relations at Ferguson. “We have sent truckloads of water, along with generators and fuel, and we are actively working to bring more resources to the affected areas in both North Carolina and Florida.”

To help associates affected by the storms, the company has its Ferguson Family Fund, an internal fund to help associates who are facing financial hardship immediately after a natural disaster. Ferguson has also donated to the American Red Cross and has launched a microsite to encourage others to make donations.

Winsupply is also using its national resources and local community involvement to help. The company is leveraging its internal Regional Distribution Centers, including in Jacksonville, Florida, to ensure pallets of needed equipment and materials are available and arriving in the areas with the most need. Winsuppy leveraged this same network when Hurricane Helene impacted so many communities.

"During times of need, Winsupply's business model allows each Winsupply Local Company and its leaders to make local decisions that need to be made," said Rob Ferguson, president of Winsupply Local Company Group. "Local decision making enables local Winsupply teams, and their customers, to be safe and focus on the needs at the community level."

With the people-first nature of the PHCP-PVF business, it is no surprise to see any companies asking, “How can we help?”

“Looking at the news and seeing the devastation Hurricane Helene has left on so many communities, the one question we find ourselves asking is, ‘how can I help?’” says Renta Varghese, global human resources manager for Jomar Valve. “Jomar Valve is partnering with D.R.A.W. (Disaster Relief at Work), a local nonprofit charity who will be delivering essential goods to areas impacted the most by this tragedy.”

Available to provide both monetary and in-kind donations to hurricane victims, Affiliated Distributors (AD) buying group’s Disaster Relief Foundation is a new 501(C)3 corporation that is intended to provide members with a tax-deductible avenue for you to help AD families.

 “There is an AD tradition of helping one another during times of crisis. It’s a testament to the strength and generosity of the AD community.  That is what inspired the creation of this foundation,” says Bill Weisberg, chairman and CEO, AD.

Busy Bee Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, with locations in Lebanon and Nashville, Tennessee, sent six members of its leadership and management team to volunteer with the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort, a well-known Tennessee nonprofit organization that responds to any major disaster in the United States by sending truckloads of emergency food, water, cleaning and other supplies to be distributed to all disaster victims in the disaster area.

“We’re in middle Tennessee, and while we’re regionally close to the damaged areas from Hurricane Helene, we also have a lot of family members in affected areas,” says Brock Dugger, director of marketing and public relations for Busy Bee Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning. “Personally, all my family is in the Tri Cities area, like the Virginia and Tennessee line. My wife’s family is actually in Hendersonville, North Carolina, near the Asheville area. The owners have friends and some families out that way, too. Not only are we hearing this on the news, but we’re actually seeing it in our personal feeds. We’re getting text messages from family and friends, ‘Hey, we’re OK, but it’s terrible here.’ This is very near and dear to our hearts.

“The other part is 20 trillion gallons of water dropped throughout that hurricane — which is absolutely unheard of,” he adds. “So nobody can get to these people in these affected areas. It’s frustrating because you want to be able to help, but you can’t just show up. This was the easiest way for deliver value that we knew would be helpful to those people. Instead of just throwing money at a problem, we knew that this organization has been around for a long time. Personally, I've I know some of the people that are involved with it, so I knew everything was going straight to the people who needed it. It was the quickest way and the most trusted way for us to get involved and help.”

When Duggar reached out about how Busy Bee could help, the Churches of Christ had already sent out 16 trucks filled with supplies and need help packing another 2,500 boxes.

“If we were going to send people money, it’s not like they can go to a store and actually spend it,” he says. “We were happy to volunteer our time as well because it sounds like people need actual items more than money at this point. We spent about four hours helping pack and load boxes. 2,500 boxes got packed and loaded onto the tractor trailer trucks. Miss B also gave a $1,200 monetary donation, as well as $500 for each state affected, which came to a total of $2,500.”

Busy Bee has plans to return to the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort to help pack more boxes in the near future.

“It's just weird how all this stuff brings people together,” Duggar says. “More than anything, I feel like this nation needs that feeling of fulfillment. We’re bickering about everything. Yes, it is an election year, and if more people were able to have that feeling you get when you help somebody, then it'll bring us together. Usually, that's what disasters do. It's tragic, it's devastating, it's very sad, but at the end of the day, it really shows you the worth of a community or a nation when everybody pulls together and helps their fellow man. We need to appreciate one another more and worry less about what divides us. That's really the basics of what life is about.”