What's New
Pacific Northwest flooding
January 13, 2009
Washington State Flood Update
- Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire has declared a state of emergency for a total of 23 counties and 14 cities due to flooding, and 7 counties declared emergencies for snow.
- No fatalities or injuries have been reported.
- I-90 and I-5 are open to all vehicles with some lane and exit restrictions. Portions of US-12 (White Pass) are closed.
- The flood waters have receded in many areas thus allowing local, state and federal officials to conduct preliminary damage assessment (PDAs) The PDAs will be used by the state to submit a request for a federal disaster declaration.
- PB Disaster Services has been placed on standby for a pending declaration in Washington State.
It is advisable that inspectors be as prepared as possible for a major flood event. Here are some suggestions...
Take/Retake the Flood eLearning Course... This course takes less than 45 minutes and does an excellent job of covering the specifications for flood damages. Past experience has shown that the use of the speed estimating tool improves the production and quality of flood inspections. It is highly recommended that inspectors consider using this tool. The Flood Course which addresses the Speed Estimating specification is an excellent refresher for all inspectors and can be accessed via the Inspector Webpage.
- Sign electronic documents... Inspectors should sign the IC Agreement, Determination of Fees, and PB Code of Ethics via their Inspector Webpage prior to being deployed.
- Download and review the new inspection guidelines that were released January 2009... Inspectors can review and download the new guidelines as well as current invoice samples and 9069 procedures by accessing the Inspector Webpage.
- Communicate Pegasus ... Inspectors authorized to have equipement at this time should take advantage of good phone lines or air card signals now and communicate their computers to update Pegasus before being deployed. An important patch must be downloaded in order for ACE3 to work. This patch can be downloaded by communicating Pegasus. After communicating Pegasus, the inspector should reboot the computer and then open the Dial-Up Modify application and the Comment Updater. These actions will ensure the installation the patch and the update of the list of standard comments.
- Inspectors with tech questions may call PB Tech Support at 866-317-9421.
- Because we need to keep phone lines open for ongoing call efforts, please refrain from calling into the Call Center at this time for situation updates, unless you have a change in your availability status. Please continue to monitor your email and the PB Disaster Website for further updates.
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