ContactRelief Recommendations for California Mudslides

ContactRelief Recommendations for Contact Centers

ContactRelief is making public recommendations made to ContactRelief subscribers, Monday, January 8th, 2018. ContactRelief recommends continued suspension of contact with consumers in certain parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura County affected by Tuesday's catastrophic mudslides.

Deadly Mudslides Strike Southern California

On Monday, January 8th, 2018, ContactRelief reported mandatory evacuation alerts for portions of Santa Barbara County and later portions of Ventura County. Additional mandatory evacuation alerts were reported for portions of Los Angeles County. Officials issued these mandatory evacuations because a strong storm system was expected to move through the area Monday evening and into Tuesday morning dumping large amounts of rain on the burned-out areas from the Thomas Fire.

The Thomas Fire has burned over 280,000 acres making it California's largest wildfire. Firefighting efforts have cost the state and the federal government over 200 million dollars alone. The fire destroyed over 1,000 structures. Although now 92% contained, the Thomas Fire had one last surprise for California residents, mudslides.

In a press conference Tuesday evening, Santa Barbara emergency management officials revealed that the recent storm system had dumped rain on the bare soils of the fire region at an unprecedented rate with rainfalls of over one-half inch in less than 5 minutes. Although the overall rainfall was significant but not excessive, the extreme rate of rainfall on a barren, burnout out landscape was all it took to unleash catastrophic mudslides.

The mudslides began in the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 9th with Hospitals receiving a steady stream of injuries throughout the day. Officials said Tuesday that they recorded 13 fatalities and 163 injuries, but cautioned that the numbers might grow as rescue operations continued. The mudslides also caused widespread damage to structures and roads, including the 101 Freeway which authorities said would be closed for at least the next two days.

Upon receipt of the mandatory evacuation alerts, the ContactRelief Disaster Decision Engine immediately recommended suspension of contact with the affected consumers. As events have shown, this recommendation was well founded. We expect that our recommendation will remain in force through at least Sunday, January 14th, 2018. We will adjust the area of suspension as the full extent of the damage is known.

To obtain the list of zip codes suspended as a result of this event, become a ContactRelief subscriber.

Don't Delay

The next disaster is on its way. Become a ContactRelief subscriber and keep your company protected from disaster. Our full recommendations consist of the areas to be suspended and the list of zip codes covering these areas. For as little as $300 per, month your company can quickly implement a solution that protects your company and its customers. As we say at ContactRelief, "It's just smart business."

Contact sales@contactrelief.com for more information.