 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Hurricane Ike AMB Flood and Aftermath September 14, 2008 Through September 22, 2008 |
| Front Door of AMB Left View on 09-14-08 Mud & Water Right View on 09-22-08 Carpet and Drywall Removed. |
| Office Floor with 3" of water. Stuff that had fallen down, boxes collapsed. Files, Books & Papers Destroyed. |
| Same Area as shown at Left, but 24 hours later. Late Evening, 09-15-08. |
| At Left, Same Area as Above Two Views, Evening of 09-22-08, after everything removed, carpet pulled up and bottom 24" of drywall cut away. |
| View at right, Tuesday afternoon, carpeting being removed. By this time, the mud and water smell (stench) was getting powerful. |
| Below - Only Three of about 600 books, professional reference magazines, historic drawings & photographs (some over 100 years old) and papers destroyed. About 90% of our business records were also destroyed |
| Views of Entry Hall and Portions of Front Office over four day period. From Standing Water to Carpet and Drywall Removed. |
| The General Shop Area -Over 300 Gallons of Water Removed. |
 |
| Click Here For The City of Brentwood's Page of Flood Photos http://www.brentwoodmo.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=375 |
| I never expected that a Hurricane could have such a disastrous effect on the St. Louis Area. But when the remnants of Hurricane Ike passed through St. Louis on the morning of September 14, 2008, disaster struck. While several communities in the area were flooded (2 deaths in nearby University City, Mo) our City of Brentwood, experienced what was possibly the worst, extensive flooding in St. Louis County. We are hoping that State and/or FEMA funds will become available to assist as we rebuild. Most of the photos shown below, are arranged in a "Before - After" format. |
 |
| While our Laser-Cutters, visible on the right in the photo above, remained "high & dry", the exposure to the high levels of humidity and whatever unknown pollutants were, and are, in the atmosphere are having a negative effect on the operation of these sophisticated pieces of equipment. Our lasers use a number of high resolution optics, mirrors and lenses to "bend" and deliver the laser beam to the cutting "plane". These optics are extremely sensitive to any airborne pollutants and this may ultimately destroy the lasers. Additionally, the plaster dust (from the drywall removal) along with other particulates, have infiltrated the laser machinery and all of the computers that were not destroyed by the flood waters. The restoration contractors have installed a multitude of fans to dry out the resdiual water/moisture. These fans are blowing large amounts of dust through our office/shop, causing additional, extensive damage to all of the company's other equipment, remaining supplies, records and our display models. Essentially, our property that was not ruined by the flood waters, is now being further damaged as a result of the restoration. |
 |
| Kit Manufacturing and Laser Cutting Area after initial clean-up - 09-15-08 |
| Note in photo at upper left, several inches of water with mud and slime below. Anything that had this slime on it felt like it was covered with wallpaper paste. |