Coastal communities know all too well the chaos hurricanes and tropical storms can bring, including flooded streets, destroyed infrastructure, and halted daily routines. For businesses, the impact can be even more devastating and long-lasting. According to Ready.gov, a staggering 75% of businesses without a continuity plan fail within three years of a major hurricane. The good news? With the right preparations in place, your business doesn’t have to become part of that statistic. Taking proactive steps today can position your business to recover quickly and resume operations as soon as possible.
Assess your business's risks
Completing a hurricane risk assessment is an important step to help you understand what types of issues your business should prepare for. Your location will affect what types of threats will be most common and if you should prepare most for wind and fallen trees or a storm surge of water. Your team should also spend time evaluating your physical building and operations for vulnerabilities. If relevant, you should also evaluate any potential issues with your supply chain. Ready.gov has a checklist your business can use to evaluate your storm readiness.
Protect your people
The safety of your employees and customers is the most important part of a storm preparation plan. Ensure you have an emergency communication plan for your employees. You need to be able to contact them if the weather becomes dangerous. Your business’s plan should also include evacuation procedures and shelter-in-place protocols in case employees are at work when a hurricane hits. While some types of businesses may be able to close if a hurricane is imminent, others, such as assisted living facilities, can’t. Employees should be trained on hurricane preparedness and how to protect themselves and anyone else in the building if they’re there during a storm. Depending on how frequently your area sees hurricanes and tropical storms, you may want to incorporate regular hurricane drills for staff and patrons.
Secure your physical property
An important part of preparing your business for the hurricane season is preparing your building. Investing in hurricane shutters, flood barriers, and other items that can help your building withstand the storm is important. Also consider the best way to protect your equipment and vehicles. While not as essential as the building itself, these items are still expensive to replace. If there’s equipment or other items that are absolutely critical to your business’s operations, relocate these things out of the storm path if possible.
Gather and protect data, records, and insurance information
One piece of the puzzle when preparing your business for hurricanes and tropical storms is protecting your data and records. Hopefully, important data and records are already digitized and backed up off-site or in the cloud. If this isn’t the case, your business should make this a priority. If there are critical physical records, these should be stored in waterproof containers. Also, it’s important to maintain an updated list of critical contacts so important people can be reached after a storm.
Review your insurance policies, ensuring your business is properly covered with property, flood, and business interruption policies. Keep information about these policies in safe locations. It’s also a good idea to document your business’s assets with photos and receipts to make filing insurance claims easier.
Create a continuity plan
Finally, spend time drafting and implementing a business continuity plan. How will your business operate if your physical location is damaged or unable to be accessed for a period? Make plans for temporary locations and remote work for your employees if possible. If your business relies on local suppliers or vendors, establish some backup plans in case those businesses are affected by the storm as well. It’s also a good idea to consider how your business can support your community’s recovery if you are not directly affected. Can your location become an emergency supply distribution site, or can you help community members with charging their phones or devices? Any amount of assistance you can provide your community will go a long way toward helping the overall recovery efforts and building goodwill for your business.
Being prepared for a hurricane or tropical storm can mean the difference between your business surviving or being forced to close. By taking the time to prepare and practice with your employees you can ensure that your business is as ready as possible to deal with whatever Mother Nature throws your way this hurricane season.
Additional resources
Business continuity plans FEMA
