Peter Smith was expecting some serious water damage calls for his restoration services business when Tropical Storm Hilary brought rain to Las Vegas on Aug. 19 and 20.
Not much occurred, though. Instead, that damage came several weeks later, in the form of seasonal monsoon storms on Friday and Saturday. Smith’s COIT Cleaning and Restoration Las Vegas was at capacity a day into the stormy weather.
“I’ve been here since 2005 and I haven’t seen storms like this. I think it was a unique scenario,” Smith said. “Normally as a restoration company, we were prepared for these types of things. But when so many people got hit with this, all we can do is just put our heads down and work as fast as we can and do the best that we can.”
Las Vegas homeowners and restoration services are dealing with the impact of severe storms over Labor Day weekend, where rainfall totals reached nearly four inches in 48 hours in some spots in the valley.
RemediationX, a water damage services company in Las Vegas, said it got an increased call for services fixing roof leaks and water backups. Peter Banyai, vice president of operations, said a normal storm night might get one or two calls. On Friday night, the company received 12 calls.
One of the worst situations the company is dealing with is in a multimillion-dollar home. Banyai said its main pump failed, causing a backup into the house.
“Imagine it’s a multimillion-dollar property and it has like four inches of water everywhere,” he said.
Restoration and insurance experts say the storms were unusual because they covered such a large area.
State Farm agent Eric James said his centrally located office has already been dealing with several insurance claims from around the valley, mostly related to roof leaks and to vehicle damage from people who “tried to take on flood waters and unfortunately lost.
“This storm was exceptional because it was valleywide,” James said. “Normally you get pockets of storms and damage here, damage there. This one, we were getting calls all over the valley. We know it was a much more harsh storm than normal.”
Smith said calls are slowing down, but the company may field more as people return home from vacation during the long weekend. He expects ongoing calls about mildew and mold issues that could be caused by standing water.
For homeowners who are still awaiting water damage services, Banyai recommends immediately calling their homeowners insurance to make sure their claim is addressed as quickly as possible.
“They need to help right away because otherwise they’ll put you at the bottom of the pile,” he said.
James said drivers who took their cars through flooding may want to take their vehicle to get serviced. He saw a driver near his house get stuck in flood waters over a construction site, where concrete and other dirt could severely damage a car’s engine if it gets in.
“You could drive through the water and think nothing of it,” James said. “But then you start your car and dirt, grime or rocks get into the engine and make a $1,000 claim into a $10,000 claim.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X. Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at [email protected]. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.
