Hurricane Awareness, Preparedness, and Responsibility

Hurricanes are known to generate more damage than other climate catastrophes, and the economic effect of surrounding areas can linger long after the storm has passed. Developing a disaster and recovery plan which can go into action when needed and be functional with roles defined will make the difference in saving lives and reducing business interruption.

Are you risk ready?

Are any recent acquisitions or new structures in a hurricane path zone, and is your disaster plan a one size fits all?

• Review plan format and determine if all action items and leadership roles are current and still effective.

Has a recent disaster drill been completed with concentration on shelter in place and evacuation, and is there a way to evaluate success?

• Assess the emergency food supply for sustainability for up to three days and interruption in vendor supply.

Do you routinely assess the acuity level in all communities for safe and efficient evacuation?

• Evaluate equipment or method of evacuation routinely and compare to acuity level.

Are all shared services, contracts, and relationships for resident temporary housing, emergency transportation and supplies reviewed routinely?

• Schedule contract appraisal and inclusion of risk partners in disaster drill roundtable.

Your resources:

Ready Business Hurricane Toolkit which includes a self-assessment for sustainability of systems and processes now in place and vulnerability. Also included are action checklists which can be used as assessment tools, education for responsibility, or as part of the pre-disaster readiness roundtable.

Prepare Your Organization for a Hurricane Playbook offers tips on how to encourage awareness at all times, and how to support leadership accountability. Storm scenarios are provided which can be used for the disaster drill roundtable or education.

Risk Insights – Hurricane Cleanup and Recovery Tips is a quick at-a-glance to-do list for more organized mitigation recovery after a hurricane event.

Hurricane Preparedness Guide – this guide provides readiness steps, preparedness methods, and a helpful checklist for reducing the impact of hurricanes on your business model.

All successful disaster plans must be kept current, be applicable to the situation and community, and easy to translate and transfer into action. For additional information on how to get prepared for natural disasters, visit our disaster preparedness page.