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While a hurricane’s winds and rain are detrimental enough, the storm surge that follows generally causes most of the flood damage. A storm surge is created when a hurricane can be worse than the force of 120-mile-per-hour winds. This is bad news for the 4.2 million residents along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the $1.1 trillion of property that is vulnerable to severe flood damage. As if that isn’t bad enough, over half of the U.S.’s economic productivity is along coastal zones. While floods are unpredictable and unpreventable, you can prepare now to reduce resulting damage drives water ashore, and the impact of the waves in the future.

When the warm weather arrives, winter snow melts and spring rain follows. While this combination prompts nature to produce lush greenery, it also heightens the risk of flooding. Disaster preparedness plans should include steps to remedy water damage as soon as possible because quick action can save a company up to 40 percent on water damage restoration costs. To prevent further damage from ensuing, take action immediately after a disaster with these simple steps before professional help arrives.

With spring nearly here, hurricane season will soon follow. Up to 40 percent of businesses affected by a natural disaster never reopen, so don’t wait for the unthinkable to happen. Create a disaster preparedness plan today to ensure your business’ success in the future. Involve individuals that hold key roles within your organization and create a preparedness policy that aligns with the organization’s vision and goals. Ensure that the policy is proactively addressing recovery, but that also means testing and updating when necessary.

We recently discussed the Planning aspects of a Disaster Preparedness Plan for an organization, which addressed topics such as risks assessments, mitigation and completing a business impact analysis. The next installation of the “Creating a Disaster Preparedness Plan” series covers Implementation. The Implementation phase is critical, as its effectiveness determines how well an organization responds to and recovers from a disaster.

The first part of the “Creating a Disaster Preparedness Plan” series discussed important first steps to take to create a disaster preparedness policy for an organization. In short, the elements discussed included creating performance goals, outlining the scope of the program, program review and development, and setting a budget.