Aquarius after IRMA

October 2017

Aquarius got some beating from Irma on early September 2017. Gust wind of over 70 mph with constant wind of more than 53 mph.  A very superficial evaluation shows the Air Conditioning Towers damaged, several hallways with water and several apartments also with water, some cars were hit by flying plywood and some other mishaps that are going to be dully noted. We had no interruption in electric power but TV and Internet services provided by Comcast were not available for several days. Residents subscribed with ATT also had no service after the storm.

The capacity of the elevator cooling towers in the North Tower became 50 percent. In the South tower the impact reduced the capacity in 25 percent.

Aquarius administration hired two firms for immediate remediation. WRG for water removal and MMSC for air conditioning.

The Aquarius Towers lost more than 50% of their Cooling Tower Fill Material (10 feet high ribbed plastic sheets). In the Lobby is a sample for viewing.

And then we have the Gale force winds in October 4 and 5. These vicious gust winds of 42 mph with constant wind of 33 mph added more damage to Aquarius. The South Building water cooling tower went to less than 50 percent capacity with damages to the tower itself.

What Irma damage was the so-called fills (plastic sheets that cool the water to refrigerate the A/C units). The Gale force winds of early October affected the structure of the both water cooling towers. The strong rains also brought water inside apartments and hallways.

In the short term a rented A/C unit will provide A/C for the South Tower while the permanent water cooling tower is rebuilt. After that the same will happen at the North Tower. It is important to mention that last year when the A/C system was replaced in both Aquarius Towers the water cooling towers were considered stable. They were stable up to the IRMA attack.

What is being considered

The amount of damage requires expert advice so a complete and well-prepared claim will be presented to our insurance underwriters. For this the Board of Directors is hiring two firms to evaluate all the damages and justify the claim with technical details. The services of Katzman and of Merlin Law firms have been retained. This will assure Aquarius to have a complete claim that is likely to be accepted and paid by the insurer. Both firms that will work for Aquarius under a single contract have a large experience and technical background with insurance claims like ours that is complex and comprehensive.

Also, it is known that the deductible of the Aquarius insurance policies will be exhausted. So, we have an anticipated expense of more than one million dollars of insurance policy deductible that is not covered. We have no reserves to cover this cost. The Board is contemplating a long-term loan to be amortized in many years. Bankers already have been contacted and the loan approval process is found to be uneventful.

In the near future we will share all details of the work to bring Aquarius to a situation before Irma. The Board and Management will make presentations. The experts will be brought before the owners to answer questions and clear up doubts.

Of course, the understanding and patience of all residents is an indispensable ingredient for successful, harmonious and rapid restoration of our building.

.o0o.