Mitigating the Cost of Weather Disruptions

This year’s El Nino is predicted to be particularly strong–among the strongest in history, in fact. The good news on the East Coast is a reduced number of storms in the current hurricane season, according to Accuweather. But we’ve also had below-normal precipitation and record-high temperatures, and whether the winter will prove better or worse than usual remains to be seen (and will depend on your location).  

The key thing El Nino is known for is disruption, for better or worse. But weather-related disruptions are hardly surprising these days. In fact, the number of new records set this summer (just a few in the Northeast include tornadoes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, hailstone size in Connecticut and rate of flash flooding across the region, according to NOAA’s Quarterly Climate Impact reports) suggest we can continue to anticipate large amounts of expensive weather- and climate-related disasters going forward.  

That puts pressure on apartment owners, according to a report released earlier this year by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies on America’s rental housing. Nearly half of the rental units built between 2000 and 2023 were in areas with some degree of risk exposure, making preventive maintenance important even for many newer properties. And while there are fewer really old buildings still in operation in higher-risk areas, despite an increase in the average age of U.S. housing stock (the study lists half as many from pre-1940 as were built in 2000-2023), those communities require even more protective care. 

Such efforts are well worth it, though, since they can reduce the cost of post-event repairs, which tend to drive up rents without improving NOI, even while reducing an already short housing supply. 

Fortunately, methods to improve resiliency are increasingly both more prevalent and less expensive, Jordan Mann writes in our October feature “Built to Last: Strategies for Designing Resilient Multifamily Units.” That’s because even finer details like wall paint and flooring options can contribute to the ability to withstand tough conditions, thanks to a wider availability of attractive and affordable alternatives. There are also a growing number of options to improve unit ventilation, minimize mold and reduce the risk of power outages, among other advances.  

So while disruption is becoming more the norm than we might like it to be, at least there are more steps we can take to guard against it. And that can mitigate the damage–and the cost.