Hurricanes/Severe Weather

Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 15-21. NOAA says that this is your time to prepare for a potential land-falling tropical storm or hurricane. We only have to remember Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy to realize that one storm could shut down our organizations, possibly forever, but at least for years. With this in mind, isn't it the smartest thing to prepare well ahead of time for the worst-case scenario? To help you do this, we've provided the articles to assist in your planning.

This hurricane preparedness checklist is a comprehensive list of what needs to be done before, during and after a storm. (Item #1)     The human factor in commercial hurricane readiness is critical, especially since damage from a hurricane may be widespread. (Item #2)     Here's what you need to know to prepare your commercial building for a hurricane. (Item #3)    

Businesses located within hurricane threat zones should have a hurricane preparedness plan. (Item #4)     Proper preparation can take great strides to reducing any worries you might face if a hurricane makes landfall near your small business. (Item #5)     Take the advice of these Louisiana IT leaders, who learned lessons the hard way about safeguarding infrastructure and equipment. (Item #6)    

As always, I look forward to hearing about your concerns with regard to business continuity. If there are any topics that you'd like to see covered, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Hurricane Preparation for Businesses: Checklist

What if your business continuity planning (BCP) could actually reduce ongoing costs rather than be just an expensive insurance policy? The key to realizing ongoing value from your BCP, not to mention making a strong case for BCP investment, is to treat it as a means to achieve day-to-day resiliency regardless of whether you ever experience a disaster. Traditionally, business continuity planning (BCP) has been viewed as a pure cost to the company -- an insurance policy that only pays out if there is a disaster. But it doesn't have to be this way.
http://www.jedco.org/files/checklist.pdf

2. Commercial Hurricane Readiness: The Human Factor

"People are our most important asset" is a common phrase, but business continuity planning traditionally looks at operations, infrastructure, information technology and security--focusing on critical business function and work process recovery. The impact on the workforce often is not adequately considered, thus downplaying the importance -- and central role -- of the human contribution to an organization's recovery.
https://disastersafety.org/ibhs-news-releases/commercial-hurricane-readiness-the-human-factor-4/

3. Hurricane Preparedness for Commercial-Type Buildings

The workplace is the strength of any community. It provides a wide variety of specialized services to its clientele and an economic base for its employees. The commercial sector should prepare to protect its property against the hazards generated by a hurricane.
http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/chap07/dpr-0715-web.pdf

4. Hurricane Preparedness Planning

Hurricanes generate a series of threats to lives and property. The most obvious is the threat posed to buildings, equipment, and people by the high winds which characterize such storms. Another serious threat to life and property comes from the storm surge, which occurs in coastal areas. This article from the Texas Department of Public Safety provides information on topics from determining risk to what to do after the hurricane.
http://www.harriscountycitizencorps.com/newsletters/hurricaneplanforbusinesses.pdf

5. Hurricane Preparedness Tips for Your Small Business

As a small business owner, you face double the stress when a hurricane threatens your area. Not only do you have to make sure that your family, friends, and home are safe from harm, you also have to ensure that your small business is affected as little as possible. You don't have some larger corporate entity above you that will take care of the details or help you recoup any losses from property damage or time away because you evacuated.
http://www.bounceenergy.com/blog/2013/07/hurricane-preparedness-tips-small-business/

6. Six disaster recovery dos and don'ts from Hurricane Katrina survivors

While most disasters -- natural or otherwise -- can't compare with the magnitude of Katrina, there were some hard lessons learned that could help organizations be better prepared for the next catastrophe. IT leaders in New Orleans and nearby cities share how they maintained or resumed business operations in the wake of Katrina and what the experience taught them. Here are their disaster recovery do's and don'ts -- sage words of wisdom from the trenches.
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2978297/disaster-recovery/6-disaster-recovery-do-s-and-don-ts-from-hurricane-katrina-survivors.html