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Disaster Preparedness
Disaster Preparedness

The Office of Economic Vitality is committed to serving and supporting our local business community before, during, and after a disaster strikes.

Disaster Preparedness Tips

  1. Identify potential risks
  2. Develop a Business Continuity Plan and update it annually
  3. Update your emergency contact list
  4. Protect vital business records
  5. Back up and store critical data
  6. Review existing Insurance coverage
  7. Establish an evacuation plan
  8. Create an emergency kit
  9. Train staff how to handle a disaster

Plan now Before Disaster Strikes

Small businesses are vital assets to our economy and community. But did you know most businesses do not have a plan for emergencies such as a hurricane? Early preparation is the smartest way to protect employees and ensure business continuity.

Identify Your Risk

Every business has unique vulnerabilities and weaknesses, so it’s critical to consider how a local disaster would impact your organization. To protect your business and staff, you must learn about the most common hazards that may affect your organization:

  • Natural hazards like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes.
  • Health hazards such as widespread and serious illnesses, like the flu.
  • Human-caused hazards including accidents and acts of violence.
  • Technology-related hazards like power outages and equipment failure.

Develop A Plan

The confusion of an emergency can make a bad situation worse, which is why businesses must develop a plan to mitigate risk to staff, structures, and services. Ready Business and the U.S. Small Business Administration have emergency preparedness checklists and toolkits available online to help you develop a plan:

TopicResourcesResources in Spanish
HurricaneChecklist or ToolkitToolkit
Tornado/Severe WindChecklist or ToolkitToolkit
FloodingChecklist or ToolkitToolkit
Power OutageChecklist or ToolkitToolkit
Cyber SecurityPlan | TipsSecurity Guide
EarthquakeChecklist or ToolkitToolkit

The Florida SBDC offers a Small Business Disaster Preparedness Guide, a Disaster Preparedness Plan Template, and an Emergency Procedures Template to help your business develop an in-depth preparedness plan.

Take Action

You’ve developed a plan, but your work doesn’t stop there. Once your plan is complete, you’ll have action items. Identifying things you can do now, like training staff or collecting items for your emergency kit, will save time and stress before or during a disaster. Practice your plan with your staff and have your emergency items in place so you and your business are ready for a disaster.

Additional Resources