Severe flooding last night caused damage to several businesses, including JMark Business Solutions Inc., which was forced to activate its emergency response plan.
Thomas Douglas, president of the information technology firm at 601 N. National Ave., said water penetrated the interior of the company’s headquarters, leaving around one and a half inches of water covering most of the first floor.
“The building itself is mostly unoccupied,” he said this morning, noting the majority of the company’s 85 Springfield employees are telecommuting for the time being.
JMark now is searching for a temporary facility for its workers, and Douglas said it’s too soon to say when they’ll be able to move back in to their main building.
JMark’s data is backed up at Bluebird Underground inside Springfield Underground, Douglas said, meaning work for clients should go uninterrupted.
“For the customers, it is very much seamless,” he said.
Flood waters that moved inside the JMark building caused damage to around five computers, as well as base boards, lower portions of walls and desks.
Outside, where water flowed like a river at the intersection of Chestnut Expressway and National Avenue, Douglas estimated 10 to 12 company vehicles were severely damaged in the storm.
Declining to estimate the cost of damages, he said the company has flood insurance, and Ollis/Akers/Arney is still on site assessing the situation.
“They were here last night. They have been working through the evening and this morning,” Douglas said.
The National Weather Service reports five to seven inches of rain hit the city, including downtown along Boonville Avenue behind Missouri State University’s eFactory.
This morning, businesses along Boonville between Mill and Phelps streets were cleaning up after the storm. Rugs and carpets could be seen airing out, and several businesses had standing water.
Heroes Coffee Co., 401 N. Boonville Ave., was “horribly affected,” according to an employee who answered the phone this morning. She said owners Tim and Amy Ferguson were unable to come to the phone because they were in the middle of cleanup efforts and were determining if there was any electrical damage.
In those areas and elsewhere, including Glenstone Avenue and Chestnut Expressway, vehicles were seen underwater, and the Springfield Fire Department
reportedly engaged in over 60 water rescues yesterday.
