Roanoke Claims Team Ready As Hurricane Joaquin Heads Up the East Coast

East Coast towns and cities already dealing with heavy rain are bracing for newly formed Category 3 Hurricane Joaquin, which could pound the region with flooding and strong winds by the weekend.  While forecasters say they have yet to determine whether the storm will hit the Eastern Seaboard, many states are bracing for its fallout. Rain, flooding and high winds will continue even if the center of Joaquin stays offshore, according to the National Weather Center. That uncertainty has prompted officials in states along the Atlantic to urge residents and businesses to take precautions.

It was only three years ago that Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc up and down the East Coast corridor. In fact, Superstorm Sandy completely shut the port of New York and New Jersey for at least three days, cutting off a vital lifeline of goods for the metropolitan area. The storm surge of nearly 14 feet brought up to 5 feet of water on-shore, inundated anything at ground level. In addition to damaged warehouses and freight handling equipment, there were dozens and dozens of containers washed into the channel. During the subsequent port shutdown, 25,000 shipping containers had to be diverted to other ports.

The trucking industry, made up of numerous small and large firms as well as independent operators, were also hard-hit by Sandy. An estimated 2,500 tractors were lost in New Jersey alone. Many others were damaged when flooding reached wheel wells, requiring brake systems to be disassembled and cleaned. Replacement equipment became hard to get for weeks after the storm. Freight railroads also halted operations for days after the storm but were back up and running quickly. Once they got back up and running, the railroad helped companies move containers diverted to other ports back to the region and created routing alternatives for freight once handled at the Jersey City to Brooklyn car-float operation, which was destroyed by the storm.

There were many lessons learned after Sandy, with new measures implemented in the maritime, trucking and railroad industries to minimize losses and curb disruption in the logistics supply chain. Still, Mother Nature is a formidable contender and as Hurricane Joaquin threatens the East Coast many are getting ready for the possibility of damage and delays in the transportation industry.

As specialists in insuring the transportation sector including logistic service providers and transportation intermediaries, the Roanoke Claims Services team is poised to assist clients in the event of damage in the wake of Hurricane Joaquin. We know how important it is in the event of a financial loss to work with a partner equipped to expedite your claim and represent your interest. The majority of our claims personnel have prior insurance company training and technical experience. They are proficient with cargo policy clauses; claims adjustments and calculations; claims documents; salvage procedures and survey arrangements. Moreover, our claims personnel undergo a thorough training program to ensure we are providing consistent, quality service on which our clients rely. For more information about our claims service and our insurance protection, please contact us at 1-800-ROANOKE (800-762-6653).