disaster preparedness Archives - Tendenci

Basic Hurricane and Safety Preparedness Kits

June 1, marked the beginning of National Safety Month, so we’ve put together a short video on what you can do to be prepared in case of an emergency, as well as a few helpful tips. If you live near the coast, you are well aware that hurricane season is here!! Stock up and stay safe:

Hurricane Preparedness Kit from Schipul – The Web Marketing Co. on Vimeo.

Water – at least 3 days of drinking water for everyone in your family including pets (about 1 gallon per person per day). Have a week on hand if possible. Backup sterilization devices (Steripen or Katadyn Extream) and water enhancers like powdered mixes that replenish electrolytes are handy to have as well.

Food – at least 3 days of food per person and pet. We recommend foods that are easy to prepare and don’t require a lot of clean-up like peanut butter, Freeze dried/ dehydrated foods (available at camping stores0, and sweet treats and comfort foods. Don’t forget a can opener for shelf stable canned goods.

Lighting– a standard flashlight with extra batteries is a good start. Since lighting is as much a need as a sense of comfort, fun lighting ideas include Glowsticks and Glow-In-the-Dark Stickers.

First Aid Kit – extra allergy or prescription medication is a good idea. You may want to add old prescription glasses, sunscreen, and mosquito spray to your basic first-aid kit.

Tools – a Mini crowbar or other multi-use tool , a fire extinguisher and backup fuel (for car, lawnmower or chainsaw) will suffice. Also protective gloves and back-up battery power for tools will come in handy.

Communication – weather and battery operated radio, power inverter that plugs into you car, cell phone backup battery, and online wireless system (in case your phone is damaged), a wireless air card (for laptop) and a USB to back up documents and keep them safe.

Atlas – It’s important to follow the secure hurricane routes recommended by officials. An atlas will help you navigate in case you need to go off the beaten path.

Storage – keep everything in one safe place and don’t cheat and use it in the meantime. A nice backpack or storage bin is easy to grab and go and make sure items (like batteries or canned goods) are rotated out for freshness.

How can we help you stay safe during hurricane season?

Feel free to contact us (info@tendenci.com or 281-497-6567) for additional information or for help putting together your Hurricane Preparedness Kit.

Helpful Emergency and Hurricane Preparedness Sites

Our Fearless Leader and Eagle Scout Ed Schipul was invited to participate in a hurricane and disaster preparedness Webinar with (client) Firestorm and the distinguished Lt. General Honore. Here are some of the points discussed during the ‘Plan. Predict. Perform’ discussion:

Families trump business – you must have a plan in place to make sure all of your employees are covered at home. More than 95% of polled employees do not have a plan for their families, or just focus on a single risk and do not take into account more than one potential disaster or occurrence.

Almost 2/3 of companies that have gone through a disaster have lost business. 40% of those businesses never re-open and 25% fail within 2 years after a disaster.

Regular points of failure seen in businesses:

Failure to control supply chains
Failure to train employees to work from home
Failure to identify and monitor all threats and risks
Failure to conduct exercises and plan
Failure to develop crisis communications plan

Jim Satterfield of Firestorm told an eye opening anecdote from a previous employer on 9/11. After a company meeting deciding the next course of action, the HR director sent out a company-wide email saying: ‘If you want to live, leave’ instead of ‘If you want to leave, leave’.

Morale of the story, you MUST have a disaster plan in place before the crisis happens and have the messaging ready to go BEFORE it happens, to avoid missteps and panic-induced mistakes that could cause chaos or massive confusion internally and externally.

Some homework for the listeners: think about your critical suppliers, employees and their functions during a time of crisis. Conduct ‘what if’ exercises, what will you do if this or that occurs – actually perform real world drills to get your brain used to going through the motions. How will you monitor breaking events and keep up with events as they happen? How do you communicate in the heat of it with employees, vendors and clients?

Things never return to ‘normal’, rather they return to a ‘new normal’. Your company must make it back there (the ‘new normal’) and through the difficult times.

Predict – Plan – Perform

Lessons from Katrina – See first, understand first, act first. People still haven’t incorporated disaster response into their business plans. A little bit of planning and a well executed response strategy by leadership will make a huge difference.

Spend $1 on preparedness and save $9 on response.

Business owners have absolute responsibility for their business, their employees and their Community. Few businesses you can think about that would not be eligible for this responsibility — look at your business and think how can we help this Community in the event of disaster and decide what you can do.

Preparedness must be of equal in importance in your business as other elements that keep you running. Luck is not a strategic plan. Continue reading “Preparing for disaster at home and in the office – are you ready?”

Tag: disaster preparedness

Hurricane Season supply checklist – be prepared!

Basic Hurricane and Safety Preparedness Kits

How can we help you stay safe during hurricane season?

Helpful Emergency and Hurricane Preparedness Sites