No one thinks a disaster is going to happen to their family. In fact, nearly two-thirds of people in a recent study said they weren’t prepared and don’t think a disaster would happen to them because they didn’t know when the most recent natural disaster was. In the same study, nearly half of all the participants in the survey said they feel natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more powerful. Every household benefits from a plan. Here is some additional information on the benefits of a disaster recovery plan.
What Is a Disaster Recovery Plan?
A natural disaster recovery plan means different things to different people. For example, businesses have different types of disaster recovery plans than families do. There are essential elements in all disaster recovery plans, however. Your family needs to know what to do in case of any disaster, whether it is a natural disaster, or it is man-made.
Steps to Making a Disaster Recovery Plan
Just as no two disasters are alike, no two disaster recovery plans are alike either. The first step you need to take in creating a natural disaster recovery plan is to find out what disaster recovery types you need to plan for. For example, if you live in the Seattle area, you need to plan for earthquakes, volcanoes, and heavy snow or ice events, in addition to fire, storm and water damage. In the Atlanta area, it is more important to make a plan for tornadoes and hurricanes, since they are common in the region. Once you know what type of disasters you face in your area, you can then move on to the second step of your plan.
Find a Safe Plan
You need to find a safe plan for you and your family members, or your employees if you are a business owner, to use when an emergency happens. For example, all the members of a family need to know that if a fire occurs in the house due to a lightning strike, everyone will meet across the street on the neighbor’s front porch. Once you have developed that part of the plan, you can move to the next step.
Prepare a Disaster Kit
In general, people can prepare for disasters by preparing disaster kits. Some people opt for a disaster kit for when you need to leave the area quickly, such as a wildfire, natural gas leak, or an explosion. You might want to consider packing a go bag to pick up quickly if you need to leave. The bag should have important documents, such as copies of your insurance, licenses, passports, banking information, etc. You also need to think about packing food and medicine for all of your family members for at least three days. owners should also think about having an emergency kit on hand, that lists all of their employees and their contact information. Having a current schedule easily accessible will assist in making sure everyone is accounted for in the event of an emergency. You may want to think about providing water and snacks for your employees as well as ways to charge phones and computers.
If you are making a disaster kit for your home, such as in the event of heavy snow, ice, hurricanes, heavy winds, or tornados, it is helpful to have other emergency items, such as paperwork, a power supply that doesn’t depend on electricity and extra gasoline. Again, businesses will need to think more in terms of temporary stays rather than permanent ones, as one of the first orders of businesses in the event of snow and ice is to send employees home.
Assign Tasks
Once you have everything prepared, your next step as a family or a business owner is to assign people tasks, both during and after the disaster occurs. Children in the family can have jobs, such as calling or messaging relatives to let them know the family is ok or distributing food and water to family members. Make sure everyone in the family knows what they are responsible for doing and practice your plan regularly. Business owners can do the same thing with their employees. There will be a lot to do if a disaster affects your business, and your employees should be part of the recovery.
What Are the Benefits of a Natural Disaster Recovery Plan?
The importance of natural disaster recovery plans can’t be overestimated. While the goals of a disaster recovery plan are a bit different for businesses than they are for families, the outcome is the same: recovery from a disaster in the fastest and best way possible.
There are a lot of things that can slow recovery from a disaster down whether you are a home or a business. First, once the emergency passes, you need to be able to account for everyone in your family or who works for you. Also, it is difficult to get started on any insurance claims or government assistance without paperwork. Planning allows you, your family and your business a way to begin the healing process after a disaster occurs. Planning also protects your business and your home. Often, scam artists, thieves, and others swoop in on a community after a disaster and take advantage of fear and worry. Planning ahead gives you a list of people to contact, so you don’t need to worry about your security.
Need Help with Natural Disaster Restoration?
No one wants to think about what they will do or how they will react in the event of a disaster. Yet, as many as 97 natural disasters occur in the United States each year, and many of them can be costly. In 2021 alone, there were 20 natural disasters in the U.S. with at least a billion dollars in damages. About 10% of homes are businesses in the U.S. are affected by disasters each year. One way to combat worry and fear is to create a disaster recovery plan. That way, you’ll be ready to move forward after the emergency is over.
Do you need help figuring out numbers to call when a disaster is over? Think about adding Jenkins Restorations to your list. Our national footprint allows us to help homeowners and businesses across the country, with damage clean up and restoration. Contact us today!
