Natural disasters can strike at any time without warning, and can potentially cause catastrophic damage to your business. Flooding, fires, earthquakes and more can ruin everything you have worked so hard to achieve, so it’s important that you put the right measures in place to deal with any situation you are faced with. Without these, you will allow emergency events to batter and beat your business and lessen your chances of being able to reopen your doors for trading when it’s all over. So, read on to find out more…
Get The Right Cover
So many aspects of your business can be damaged or lost completely when you fall victim to a natural disaster. One of the most expensive parts of your business that may be affected is the property inside which your products and raw materials are stored or your employee office space. As a result, taking out insurance that covers these buildings should be top of your priorities. Without these spaces your business cannot function and serve its purpose at all, so you need to be able to fix a problem swiftly if it were to occur. Second on the list to consider insuring is the equipment and machinery you own, and other generally more expensive tools and components inside. These can be expensive to replace, especially if they are very unique and specific to your industry or profession, as they can take months to be built and transported safely. You may also want to think about getting some kind of cover that will protect your employees, as this will help to give them peace of mind and also keep you out of any legal issues. If a natural disaster were to hit your business, being insured will help you get back on your feet as quickly as possible and reimburse you for what has been lost.
Install Preventative Measures
There are many different things you can add to or change within your business to ensure that the least damage will be caused in the case of a natural disaster. There are many different events that Mother Nature can challenge you with, but these will ultimately depend on your location. Essentially, the preventative measures you install should match whichever disasters you are prone to in your specific location. If you’re close to a river or waterway that could possibly burst its banks, be sure to keep sandbags handy to help stop any water entering through doorways. If you’re near an ocean or located very close to a beach, it’s a good idea to identify how great your chance is of being hit by a tsunami or hurricane. Then, take the necessary steps to prevent these situations from having the opportunity to make a great deal of damage. There are various extreme weatherproof shutters that can help protect windows and doors from being smashed or broken during any chaos and stop anything from entering the building. Earthquakes can cause so much damage to both your business and its staff if they were unlucky enough to be inside, but by getting in touch with a seismic retrofit contractor you can take steps to be more resistant to the moving ground. Be certain that all exterior doors are impact proof to halt the path of any flying debris or anything else from entering the building that may cause damage or pose a greater risk.
Create A Disaster Plan
One of the best ways you can protect your business from a natural disaster is by having a detailed plan of how to react and what to do to recover. Inside this plan, you should include the different routes different staff members should take to ensure their own safety, what tasks they must complete in order to protect the buildings and its contents, and how to return to work once the emergency is over. It’s vital that you have a disaster plan even if your business has never experienced any kind of extreme situation, as they could strike at any time and are so unpredictable. Come together with your staff members and ask for their input, as this will also give them greater piece of mind. Let them each have a copy and note the importance of knowing and being able to follow the instructions inside, for their own safety and security. To be faced with a natural disaster is bad enough, but not having a plan for how to handle the situation will make it so much worse. Identify the safest areas of the building and inform staff that this will be the meeting point if anything were to happen. Run through the basics, like how to secure equipment and other items so they do not pose more of a threat, how to work together to protect each other, when it’s safe to leave the building, and what you plan to do afterwards when it’s all blown over. If you fail to plan, you are essentially planning to fail. In high stress situations, disorder and chaos take the reigns and can make people cause even more damage to themselves and their workplace than that of the natural disaster. However, with the addition of a set of rules and instructions, your staff will be able to work with you to protect your business and cause the least harm possible in the process.
Focus On Recovery
When you witness or experience a natural disaster, the aftermath can sometimes make recovery look somewhat impossible. The potential damage that could be caused by an emergency event is extreme, and in some cases buildings really are beyond repair. However, if you have managed to install the necessary preventive measures and invested in the right insurance, you may be quite able to get back on your feet. Once your site or structure is declared safe, it’s time to head inside to check out the damage. Take photographs and videos to use as evidence, and assess the various risks that are still endangering the business. Recovery is a slow process, but with a little bit of hard work and dedication from both the owner and their staff, you can turn the whole thing around in no time at all. Work together to move broken or damaged goods and machinery outside to be removed, and identify whether maintenance work would fix any issues to avoid having to repurchase. Discuss your financial position with your insurance company, as they will be able to inform you of what is covered and can be replaced or mended without incurring a bill. Keep up spirits by setting a goal or time frame for you to achieve, as the faster you turn it around the faster you can reopen your doors for production or sales.
Hopefully this information can act as a guide, and help you to protect your business from a natural disaster. With a little bit of planning and hard work, you can ensure that your buildings and their contents are safe, along with your staff and your reputation. Come together in the clean up effort if the worst were to happen, and show your community that you are committed to bringing your company back to its former glory. The insurance you choose if very important for the financial side of things, so be thorough in your search and check what aspects each one on the market can offer to cover. Getting morale back up after a disaster is tough, but working together as one team will make is easier and faster to deal with and allow you to feel supported
