November 30, 2019

Lombard Reflects on Its Hurricane Disaster Work for Public Storage

As the 2019 hurricane season draws to a close, Lombard Exteriors can’t help but remember 2017. That year, Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc across the state of Florida. Client Public Storage required extensive remediation at 95 percent of its southern and central Florida facilities. Lombard brought federal-level disaster experience to coordinate 100 Public Storage projects in a 13 week span, during and after the storm.

Hurricane Irma hit Florida on September 10, 2017. It slammed the Keys as a Category 4 hurricane and mainland Florida the next day as a Category 3, with torrential rains and 65 mph winds. The historic storm killed 34 Floridians and caused $50 billion in damage, according to the National Hurricane Center. Irma ripped off roofs, flooded coastal cities, toppled trees and left 6.8 million without power.

Irma affected almost the entire state as it moved northward into Alabama and Georgia. Public Storage, which operates over 100 self-storage facilities throughout Florida, faced massive property damage and loss of business.

Areaya Abebe, Lombard’s CEO, recalls: "We had been working with Public Storage for exactly one year when Irma struck. The vast majority of their Florida facilities suffered damage, some of it very extensive. Cleanup and repair required coordination on a mass scale. Fortunately, my background includes time with FEMA. Federal disaster experience was not just a bonus, but essential to guiding our client through this challenge.”

Lombard was charged with completing more than 300 facilities management projects at Public Storage facilities in 60 cities. Work ranged from apartment rehab to exterior renovation and paint. Lombard was on-site as soon as emergency crews gave the all-clear. Projects were prioritized and rolled out over 13 weeks, with all affected Public Storage facilities fully restored before Christmas.

Commented G. Thomas, Sr. Facility Manager: “Lombard was the perfect facilities management company to see us through this disaster. We know there will always be hurricanes – hopefully only mild ones. We know that blizzards, flooding and tornadoes are risks we face in many markets we serve. Lombard proved themselves indispensable during Irma. They continue to go above and beyond for us. Whatever the future holds, together, we’re ready.”

Concluded Abebe: “Disaster response is a fact of life in our business. Wherever disaster strikes, clients can count on Lombard to come through for them.”


Lombard Exteriors continues to expand rapidly. It currently works in a total of 21 East Coast and Midwest states:
AL, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TN, VA, WI.

For more information about this announcement contact Asafu Thomas at press@lombardexteriors.com

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