Happily, hurricane season comes together with lots of warnings and reports from meteorological centers about upcoming rains and storms. These warnings are done not just for information, but to give a chance to prepare a business for disaster and minimize aftermaths.
Often even planning for future disasters may become a huge concern and a stressful issue. Thus, our team from Signature Water and Fire Restoration has a solution offering the service of implementing precautions in a storm preparation framework. It comes down to both lessening of the damage from a storm and managing the preparation at each stage.
Why is the plan essential for acting in a storm emergency?
- The plan allows employees to protect themselves and business assets, where applicable;
- Having a plan allows to effectively and professionally mitigate storm damage caused to the business by immediate response to the danger;
- The plan developed with consideration to individual needs and specifics of your business, includes relevant information about operations to be performed, emergency contacts, preferred reputable suppliers for preparation and recovery, and other details useful to prepare and remedy storm aftermath;
- The plan allows avoiding panic fiving a security assurance to employees by providing a clear action plan to follow, describing roles and responsibilities, necessary procedures, and routes for evacuation.
Important Steps to Prepare for the Storm
- Do not wait for any warning being proactive in the property maintenance: ensure roofs are repaired, gutters anchored, windows and doors are strengthened, drainage is working properly, and so on;
- Check whether there’s the ability to relocate critical systems and equipment in emergent cases if it is impossible to store them initially at the higher places;
- Manage the backup processes of the critical data and essential documents, ensure they are stored at the protected places, re-move them to such places if necessary, and keep copies;
- Prepare your employees for remote work schedule and ensure they’ll not lose the efficiency;
- Train employees on the existing emergency action plan, including practical tasks to ensure everything will go smoothly.
What to Do When the Storm Warning Was Received
- In case you have the exterior furniture or equipment ensure it is secured properly with chains, ropes or better bring them inside the premises;
- Close the shutters or in case of their absence protect windows by nailing plywood;
- Hide wall hangings and other art objects or at least ensure they are secured;
- Ensure your vehicles are away from trees, power lines, and are not left at underground parking. Move them to the higher floors if possible;
- Ensure you’ll have power in an emergency – check you have enough gas in a tank, generators are working, all flashlights and cell phones are fully charged;
- Re-move power sources away from windows and doors and unplugs them;
- Prepare the emergency kit and re-check whether it has all the necessary (flashlights and radio together with batteries, water, non-perishable food, cash, warm clothes, drugs, etc.);
- Ensure you have a safe place to use as a shelter for cases when the evacuation is impossible. This place should be away from windows and doors.
Signature Water and Fire Restoration can be your helper for preparing a plan for emergent storm cases and handle damage caused by it in a very quick manner. We’re professionals who work in this area for years and know lots of specific problems, which are not recommended to remove by yourself without heavy equipment and experience. We easily remedy water damage and perform all necessary restoration work for you with a guarantee of quality and quick performance. Call us at +1-224-515-0100 and our experts will do their best for you!