Thankfully LeChase project sites did not sustain damage from Hurricane Florence, as the storm shifted to the west and its winds died down to a category 1 before making landfall. Unfortunately, we have a few employees whose homes at the eastern coast of North Carolina sustained substantial damage.
The week prior to the storms impending impact, leadership along with site and safety teams assembled a plan using our standard preparedness checklist and customization plan. We deployed our emergency response system to remain in frequent contact with our teams and adjusted our plans as needed. By Thursday, September 13, project teams had prepared their sites – removing scrap materials that could turn into windblown hazards; anchoring and restraining fencing, barricades and other items that could blow away; closing excavations and banding/securing lumber and planking. Additional generators were on hand in the event any sites experienced critical power outages.
Project sites remained closed the day of the storm and through the weekend to give the situation time to settle and give workers time to take care of their own homes and families; however, by the following Monday, teams were back on the job. Crews did spend some time cleaning up water and mud from the 8-9 inches of rain the storm brought to the area, by through their careful planning they were able to avoid any major issues.
Our thoughts and prayers remain with those who experienced more severe impact and in some cases loss from Florence, and we thank all of the LeChase employees and subcontractors who worked to minimize the impacts we could control. As the seasons shift we hope that everyone remains safe andsecure.
