case study
Cleaning up after Cyclone Debbie
MARCH 2017
After carving a trail of destruction down the Queensland coast, Cyclone Debbie crossed into NSW and dumped between 500 and 740mm of rain on the middle and upper reaches of the Tweed River Valley in 24 hours – double the normal March average. In Lismore, the levee designed to protect the city cracked and was breached by flood waters.
Every single business in the CBD of Lismore was submerged by water.
As the mix of water, mud, sewage, rubbish, petrol and oil began to recede, the gruelling task of cleaning up houses, shops and restoring livelihoods got under way. Hundreds of volunteers moved into the city centre to help with the gruelling task of cleaning up. The force of the flood had smashed through doors and destroyed stock and fittings; some businesses lost everything.
Lismore Workers Club
The C & D Restorations team were engaged to perform emergency flood cleaning at the Lismore Workers Club.
For C & D staff to be in action in the shortest possible time-frame, staff worked tirelessly over the weekend to get the equipment ready and loaded up in the company vehicles for transportation 750 kilometres up the northern coast of NSW.
After setting up a base close by, the C & D team immediately began work at the club.
The entire lower level of the club had suffered significant flood damage including the poker machine areas, coffee lounges and pool area.
Priority was given to the most urgent requirements of the club. The poker machines generate a large revenue, so it was in this area in which C & D Restorations began work immediately. Fortunately, the club had been able to organise the removal of the poker machines and carpets throughout the lower level before the flood waters hit. C & D installed dehumidifiers to stabilise the environment first and foremost. Drying, then cleaning and sanitising the retained building elements throughout the poker machine area was undertaken. Armed with an arsenal of 75 air movers and 16 dehumidifiers, C & D Restorations had the poker machine area dry within two weeks, enabling rectification works to begin. Infra-red imagery and the latest moisture reading technology were used to ensure drying was completed to pre-flood conditions.
Having this area effectively dried and cleaned quickly ensured that interruption to business and loss of revenue was minimised.
C & D Restorations went on to dry, clean and sanitise all other affected areas of the club, including the undercover car park area and restoring contents such as chairs and tables.
Success was achieved through a fast response time, high customer service levels and cost effectiveness by the C & D Restoration team. This ensured that our clients engaged us to continue emergency restorations on multiple commercial and residential buildings in the flood zone and beyond.
Before
After
