Flood risks
I was recently interviewed by a newspaper journalist concerning the evacuations in the northwestern United States prompted by severe floods and avalanches. She asked me what small business owners should do to pack for such an evacuation. I answered “nothing”, which response surprised her. Actually, when an evacuation is called, you should not put yourself, your family or your employees in harm’s way by thinking of what to pack and where to go. This is true whether the evacuation order is caused by a flood, a civil emergency or some other type of disaster. Your data should be online, offsite and accessible from any remote location from which you may have to temporarily operate. Your evacuation plan should already be worked out. Your communications plan should include not only your employees and their families (and secondary, out-of-state contacts), but also customers, neighbors, vendors and other important partners. You should not delay an evacuation order to attempt in haste to determine what is critical to your business. Human safety is the most important factor. Always.