Prepare your business for natural disasters with this checklist (original) (raw)

Protect your business and employees from a natural disaster with this preparedness checklist. Plan ahead with safety protocols, emergency supplies, and training to minimize risks.

Through hurricane season and any other threat of natural disaster, it's imperative for businesses to be alert and prepared for whatever comes with a business hurricane preparedness checklist.

Hurricanes can come on quickly and rapidly intensify like in the cases of Hurricane Helene and Milton, which left a trail of destruction in the southeast United States. Without the proper emergency plan, high winds, heavy rain and lightning can cause damage to your business and, more importantly, your people.

Lack of hurricane preparedness can lead to preventable tragedies and even employee deaths. During Hurricane Helene, factory workers in Tennessee allegedly weren't allowed to leave work early even as the storm became more severe. This led to multiple employees being swept away by floodwaters trying to get home.

A hurricane preparedness checklist can ensure necessary precautions are taken to keep everyone safe and maintain business operations as best as possible. However, natural disaster preparedness should be a continuous effort that starts far before a hurricane warning sounds. Regular training and updated safety protocols should be prioritized, especially in areas with higher risks of severe weather.

To fully prepare for whatever's to come, here's a comprehensive business hurricane preparedness checklist for before, during and after the storm.

Before the storm

Before a storm makes landfall, there are several precautions you can take to ensure the safety and protection of your workforce. When in doubt, it's always best to take cautionary measures to avoid preventable employee tragedies.

Prepare the workforce

Create necessary protocols. Have emergency protocols in place in the case of severe weather events. This includes safety measures such as when to let employees leave and how to keep them safe if it's not safe to leave the premises. This can prevent disasters and employee injuries as well as protect the company from legal risks.
Assign roles. Delegate specific roles and responsibilities to team members in the case of a natural disaster and provide relevant training and resources to employees based on given roles, such as CPR or automated external defibrillators. Training should be conducted regularly, and backups should be designated in case an employee is missing or can't perform their assigned duties.
Verify employee information. Verify emergency contact information and encourage employees to keep their information current. Other important employee information, such as health information, any individual needs and methods of contact, should also be kept up to date. Keep physical copies of this information in case of power outages.
Review evacuation procedures. Review evacuation plans, shelter-in-place plans and designated meeting points outside of the building. Conduct reviews and training on these procedures regularly. Give context about these processes to employees, such as warning signs to identify when to evacuate or when to shelter in place, and alternatives if evacuation routes are blocked or sheltering in place is not possible.
Stock emergency supplies. Keep emergency kits in multiple places and ensure supplies are well-stocked, stored safely and easily accessible. Supplies should include essential items such as the following:
- First-aid kits.
- Water.
- Nonperishable food.
- Medical supplies.
- Cleaning supplies.
- Emergency lights and flashlights.
- Fire extinguishers.
- Weather radios.
- Batteries.
Create a communication plan. Make a communication plan and share it with employees, including printing out physical copies and storing them at multiple points in the building. The plan should tell employees who they should communicate with in case of an emergency and the best ways to do it -- including alternative methods of communication if the power goes out. Ensure employees are aware of the plan before a disaster occurs and that there are no questions or confusion.

Prepare the business

Back up documents. Important documents and data should be backed up securely, and backups should happen regularly. This way, important business information is not lost if a natural disaster destroys hard drives or physical documents. Cloud-based systems that essential personnel can access ensure that even if documents aren't accessible on-site, they can still be retrieved.
Document critical processes. If essential personnel cannot work due to a hurricane or other natural disaster, their functions and duties should be well documented for business continuity purposes. These documents should also be accessible through the cloud so employees can step in when needed even if the physical office building is not accessible.
Find alternative power sources. Install and maintain emergency generators in case of a power outage, and be sure employees have access to personal power banks. These power sources should be well-maintained. This includes being well-stocked with fuel, regular testing, and easily accessible instructions. Uninterruptible power supplies can ensure essential equipment doesn't fail, even if the power goes out. To conserve power, turn off nonessential electronics and find other ways to reduce power.
Prepare for remote work. Natural disasters can cause all sorts of problems for business sites, and employees may need to work remotely after the storm to keep operations running. Create guidelines on how to access systems remotely, set up VPN access and train employees to use cloud systems to access important documents and data.

During the storm

During the storm, your employees should be your top priority. Ensuring the health and safety of all employees is critical, especially during severe events that bring high winds, floods and lightning:

Implement emergency processes. Begin any predetermined processes as soon as possible, such as activating emergency roles, backup procedures, communication plans and evacuation procedures if necessary.
Account for all employees. Take roll calls and ensure all employees are accounted for. If an employee is missing, report it immediately and implement any predetermined safety measures to locate missing employees.
Assess the situation. Weather can be unpredictable, and different storms can call for different protocols, so it's important to assess the situation to see what is needed. Monitor local emergency services such as the National Weather Service for updates or announcements. For example, the storm might be more severe than originally predicted, and more drastic measures might need to be taken, such as sheltering in place.
Secure the building. Take any physical precautionary measures, such as disconnecting electrical feeds, moving equipment away from windows, picking items up off the floor and moving them to a higher location, locking interior doors and windows, and securing gaps with sandbags.
Ensure safety measures are in place. Depending on the severity of the storm, several safety measures might need to be put in place to protect employees, including finding safe shelters such as a basement or windowless room, doing routine headcounts and distributing emergency supplies.
Communicate often. Throughout the storm, ensure communication channels stay open and communication is frequent, including if and when offices are closed. Communicate with customers and stakeholders to update them on business status and any operational pauses.
Document any emergency decisions. If emergency-related actions or decisions that weren't predetermined are made, keep a detailed record of what happened and why. This is especially important for any decisions made regarding employee safety.

After the storm

Your work isn't done once the storm is over. In fact, employees will need more support than ever post-storm to get back to daily operations. It's imperative that you don't rush employees to get back to "normal" after severe weather but instead offer support and empathy:

Check-in with employees. When everyone is safe and the storm has passed, your first duty is to check on employees and their families. Conduct wellness checks on team members and provide any relevant disaster relief resources to help employees deal with the physical or emotional effects of the disaster or emergency financial assistance.
Survey the damage. When the area is considered safe to return to, it's important to survey the damage the storm caused. Safety hazards such as live wires, gas leaks and structural damage should be documented and addressed before anyone returns to the office.
Make any necessary insurance claims or repairs. If there was damage to the property, you might need to file insurance claims or make equipment repairs. Doing this as soon as possible after the storm can ensure the business gets back to operations as quickly as possible without further risking the safety of employees.
Offer counseling and wellness resources. It can be helpful to have an employee well-being strategy in place and offer mental health resources to employees, including counseling through an employee assistance program. Normalizing mental health in the workplace can encourage employees to seek the help they need after a big event such as a hurricane.
Be flexible with work. Be compassionate about what employees have gone through and offer flexible scheduling to help employees balance organizational needs with personal recovery. Implementing a gradual return to the office as well as interim temporary workspaces or remote work can give employees the peace of mind they need to recover without added stress.
Document the process. Consider what was done well during the storm and what could be improved on, then document those findings for future reference. Update emergency procedures based on feedback and documentation to ensure you're prepared the next time a natural disaster affects the business.
Continue supporting employees long-term. Support after the storm should not be one-and-done. Consider what employees need from you long term, including new support systems, emergency protocol policies or updated training. Create a culture of open communication so employees feel comfortable sharing their struggles.

Alison Roller is a freelance writer with experience in tech, HR and marketing.