| FEMA issues basic disaster recovery planning advice
The guidance commences with a comment from Lt. George Georgeles, New Jersey state coordinating officer, who urges business owners to think first about the basics of survival: fresh water, food, clean air and warmth in preparing for emergencies. "Talk to your co-workers about what emergency supplies the company can provide and which ones individuals should consider keeping on hand," Georgeles says. According to FEMA, business owners should include these additional factors in their disaster recovery planning: * Carefully assess the risks (e.g., flood, fire, tornado, etc.) for each specific business location and plan accordingly. * Identify operations critical to your company's survival and recovery. * Determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are necessary to keep the business operating and establish procedures for succession of management. * Plan what you will do if your building, plant or store is not accessible. * Your employees and co-workers are your business's most valuable assets and should be included at all levels in planning for and responding to a disaster. * Maintain two-way communications with employees before, during and after a disaster; promote family and individual preparedness and support employee health after a disaster. * Establish a means of contacting employees who have been displaced from their homes by the disaster. Also, be sure employees have an alternate method of contacting the business if it is forced from its normal location. * Make an evacuation plan should a disaster require employees, customers and visitors to leave the workplace quickly. * For situations where it is best to stay where you are, such as during a tornado or a chemical incident, plan for sheltering in place. * Maintain a list of telephone and fax numbers of employees, customers, vendors, bankers, attorneys, insurance agents, professional recovery services, equipment rentals and emergency agencies. * Prepare for extended utility interruptions during and after a disaster. Speak with service providers about potential alternatives and identify back-up options such as portable generators to power the vital aspects of your business in an emergency. The guidance also has advice from the SBA, which states: ‘The US Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Disaster Assistance, recommends businesses have an annual insurance ‘check-up’ to assure coverage meets the specific risks at the business site; to be sure both the building and its contents are covered and to protect against business interruptions. The SBA reminds business owners that most hazard insurance policies do not cover flood losses and that a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) may be required. ‘The SBA also stresses the importance of preserving vital business records: financial data, accounting records, personnel information, marketing strategies, insurance records, inventory information, etc. Computerized records should be backed up daily and the backups, along with other vital records, should be stored off-site.’
•Date: 1st June 2007 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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