Safety During the Storm

As the storm approaches
Make sure you and your key employees each have two copies of your hurricane response and recovery plan (use the Hurriplanner). One copy is for their residence and the other is for their vehicle.

As the hurricane moves toward landfall and your business appears to be in the range of its path, your focus will turn to physically protecting your business and encouraging your employees to protect their families and property. For your business, these actions can range from taping, boarding-over, or shuttering windows, powering down and “bagging” computers, raising inventory off the floor, securing raw materials or merchandise from theft, storing valuable papers, and much more. For your employees, being with their loved ones and protecting their property will be a priority. If they are working with you as the storm approaches, schedule adequate time for them to contact their families and to travel safely in returning to their homes or to find a safe location in the event their residence could be flooded.

Waiting out the storm
You are essential to your business. But taking care of your business will likely mean leaving it during the storm so that you can stay safe and rebuild it if you need to after the storm. While you might be tempted to stay with your business during the storm, it could be located in a building that suffers extreme damage from water and wind. Although most new commercial buildings in Florida are built with materials that can get wet and resist strong winds, the building in which you have your business might be at risk for damage. Therefore, staying with your business can mean losing touch with your own family and being injured by storm damage. Your home or other safe environment is the best place to wait out the storm.

During the storm, stay in touch by phone with your key business contacts. This will help you become aware of any loss of land line or cell phone coverage. Phone contact will be important when the storm passes and it’s safe to return to your business. If the service of one telecommunications carrier is knocked out by the storm, you may be able to network via an employee with another carrier.

Resist the temptation to make a dash to your business when the eye of the storm is passing. The calm of the eye is deceptive. It’s just the intermission in a two-act show. The second half may be more violent than the first, and you won’t want to be caught in the middle of the action.

After it passes
Before you return to your business after the storm, if you haven’t already stocked water and food at the location, prepare take some with you. You have no idea what condition your business will be in and how long you will need to be there for security, repairs, and communication with emergency authorities and insurance adjusters before you can return home.

Exercise great care when returning to your business. Power lines might be down en route. Avoid road and bridges covered by water that could cause your car to lose power and be washed from the roadway.

At the site of your business, thoroughly check the exterior to deem it safe for your own entry. Your business might not have power for hours or even days after the storm. And it might need extensive cleanup. Go to the next section of this website, Safety After the Storm, and print out the safety fliers that will keep you and your employees safe while re-starting and cleaning your business site.

Finally, let your employees know when they can return to work. Alert them to driving hazards such as water-covered roadways and downed trees. Contact your vendors and customers to tell them when they can expect you to be back in business.