Hurricane season has officially started, and NOAA has predicted this season there is a 10% chance of above normal activity and 60% chance of a below-normal season.
Hurricane season is stressful for everyone in at-risk areas, but when you own a business, that stress is doubled. You’re not only responsible for yourself, your family, and your home, but also your business and employees. With all of those moving parts, preparation is essential.
Having a plan and making decisions now can help prevent you from losing revenue due to building damage, inventory damage, and disruption of day-to-day business operations.
Putting a plan into place can be an overwhelming process, so we’ve put together some information to make preparation as easy as possible.
Hurricane Preparation
- Evaluate your insurance – It’s important to make sure you have the right insurance and to sign up for insurance you need as soon as possible. Specifically, to protect for severe weather, it is important to make sure you have property insurance, product liability insurance, business interruption insurance, and flood insurance.
- Gather contact information for employees – Keep a log of emergency contact information for each employee. Know where everyone lives and where everyone is evacuating to.
- Make an evacuation plan for each employee – Depending on where employees live and where the hurricane hits, your staff may be scattering in all different directions. It is essential to allow each employee to leave with more than enough time to reach their destination.
- Photograph the inside and outside of your business – This is great to keep for your records for insurance purposes. It can also be used as a guide if anything gets displaced in a storm.
- Make a list of your inventory and equipment – Take stock of everything in your business so you’ll have a list when you evaluate everything after a storm.
- Gather and make copies of important documents – In general, it’s good to have copies of important documents, but it is especially vital during emergencies. Important documents are anything vital to the running and decision-making of your business.
- Back up your records to an off-site location
- Relocate valuables
- Secure electronics
- Turn off utilities
Recovery
- Assess the damage – After you’ve gotten everything situated at home after a storm, you should then assess the damage of your business.
- Check on employees – See how they’re doing and let them know the state of the business and when you think you will be up and running again.
- Recovery and restoration assistance – Many businesses need help to get back on their feet after a hurricane.
- Get the word out about your recovery via social media and email blasts – Let your customers know how you’re doing, if you need any help from the community, and when you plan on reopening. It’s your job to be your own advocate. No one will know the state of your business unless you tell them.
Resources
Below you’ll find more helpful resources for hurricane preparedness, both business-wise and personally. The NOAA Extreme Weather Information Sheet, Emergency Financial Preparedness Toolkit, and St. Augustine Hurricane Guide are great to share with your staff.
St. Johns County Emergency Management Hurricane Preparedness Guide
Ready Business – Emergency Response Plan
NOAA Extreme Weather Information Sheet
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation – Small Business Recovery Expanded Guide
PrepareMyBusiness.org – Hurricane Preparedness Checklist
PrepareMyBusiness.org – Crisis Communications Checklist
PrepareMyBusiness.org – Recovery Overview Checklist
State of Florida Department of Financial Services Emergency Financial Preparedness Toolkit