Natural disasters have affected people around the world. These floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes have caused significant damage, which requires the efforts of many construction companies and their workers. Cranes, bulldozers, and other forms of heavy equipment are needed to clean up the debris and to make the communities safe again. Then, truckers are needed to haul in the equipment for the cleanups, take in supplies for the rebuilding, and haul in the equipment for the new construction efforts to clean up the damage.

The Water Damage Restoration and Clean-Up Process

For those communities that have suffered from flooding, there will be a need for water damage restoration and clean-up to ensure the communities are safe for residents. Here are some tips for those working with flood clean-up and restoration:

• Structural and electrical damage inspections – starting from the exterior before entrance is permitted
• Check for gas leaks and fire hazards using battery-powered light sources
• Wear durable shoes, eye protection, and sturdy rubber gloves
• Never mix chlorine bleach with vinegar or ammonia during the cleaning process.
• Stay on the lookout for snakes, rodents, fire ants, and other animals.
• Wear a respirator to filter spores when working around mold

Clean-Up After Tornados or Earthquakes

The clean-up process after an earthquake or tornado can be intense. Be sure to wear gloves, sturdy shoes, and protective gear. Be on the lookout for electrical risks, such as broken power lines. Watch for broken glass, sharp objects, and rodents. A respirator might be needed to filter the air if there are contaminants or mold.

Training For Such Tasks

If you are interested in a career helping with cleanup and damage restoration or rebuilding after natural disasters, ATS training programs are available to train those for different roles in the construction field. Learn about heavy equipment operation, crane operating, or truck driving from ATS. To learn about the ATS programs, call (800) 383-7364 today to learn more about training programs at Associated Training Services.

When natural disasters strike, from Hurricanes across Texas to mudslides in California, the news reports are full of information, shocking images, and stories of tragedy and heroism alike. However, such is the pace of the world we live in today, that a week later, the story has moved elsewhere, and the last we hear about those terrible situations are the images of houses buried or destroyed, flooded roads, and so on. How many of us think about what happens next, and how such devastation is cleared up?

The most important thing to occur after the devastating disaster like the mudslides in California earlier this year took place long after the TV crews and cameras had gone to the next story, and that was the long process of cleaning up, salvaging what was possible from wrecked homes and clearing up the roads to make them useable again.

Using a range of equipment, the cleanup specialist’s first challenge is not moving the mud, but the mud itself. With potential contaminants including oil, gas, pesticides, sewage, and a wide range of chemicals washed out of people’s homes, it’s a potential health hazard in its own right. Care when moving the mud was essential, and teams of dozers, loaders, and dump trucks from specialists such as National Plant Services were employed to move the huge quantities of mud, which was dumped at the coast to reinforce costal protections and prevent yet more problems from storm flooding.

With the most significant volume of mud removed in the first month, attention then turned to the infrastructure of the region. Each manhole had to be opened and checked individually, a difficult task with some invisible due to the layer of mud. The entire city collection system had been affected by the mud, and every drain, sewer, and access point had to be checked by hand. To accomplish this, teams of contractors and city workers worked together, using maps to identify where access points should be, and using dozers to scrape away remaining mud to get at them.

In some cases, where opening the manhole revealed mud right to the top, and here Vac-Con trucks were deployed to clean out the sewers and restore normal operations. Camera equipment was used to assess areas that were less obviously obstructed, and much of the work involved removing large stone and rock debris from within the pipes, left behind by the mud.

With the constant hazard of the mud and debris around them, this is tough work for any contractor, and it took 2 months of 7 days a week, 15 hours a day shifts to finish the disaster cleanup. With teams from three different disaster cleanup specialists aided by city workers and national guard engineers working together to complete the task, that is a lot of manhours and a lot of unsung effort.

It might not be as attention-grabbing as the disasters, but the people who find themselves struggling in the aftermath of any such event need the men and women who clean up after the cameras have gone. Maybe it’s time we all said a thank you for what they do.

There will always be a need for storm clean up crews because there will always be storms, right? Whether it’s a summer tornado in the midwest, or a hurricane hitting the coast, El Niño causing problems or a classic Nor’easter hitting major cities — somebody has to be able to move a lot of debris. That means a piece of heavy equipment in most cases, and a skilled operator able to do the job in unstable conditions.

Many Types of Heavy Equipment Used After A Storm

What does it take to restore a storm-damaged area? Here’s a list of the usual:

• excavators
• dozers
• track loaders
• wheel loaders
• cranes
• dump trucks
• backhoes
• and many more

The Right Equipment Is Useless Without The Right Operator

As impressive as heavy equipment is for getting an overwhelming job done, it takes a well-trained operator to do it safely and competently. Without the operator, that equipment is useless. Nobody knows when the next big storm will hit, but you know it will. In the meantime, a good heavy equipment operator is usually working away on a job site somewhere, earning a paycheck and honing skills.

When the need arises, that heavy equipment operator is ready to be part of the emergency cleanup crews who are desperately needed. Not all of those jobs are volunteer, either! Many operators make good money doing this service.

How can you be ready for this opportunity? By clearing some room on your calendar for training. ATS has training classes in heavy equipment, crane, and truck driving starting every three weeks, all year long. By the time the next storm comes rolling through, you could be ready.