Hurricane disaster recovery plan: 10 tips for business owners

Getting your business back on its feet after a hurricane strikes can be a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating experience. If there’s an upside, it’s this: Although you cannot control a hurricane, you can control your recovery activities after the storm passes.

Remember that the first step to recovery after a storm is filing a claim with your insurance provider and discussing the claim with an adjuster. Zurich customers can find information about filing a claim online at www.zurichna.com/claims.

Of course, what you did before hurricane season can determine the success of your recovery efforts. Implementing and practicing a hurricane response plan tailored to your business will pave the way for a more effective recovery.

Following are 10 steps from Zurich’s Resilience Solutions' Risk Engineering team to help you restore your business operations. But first, some cautionary notes: In your eagerness to return to normal, don’t cut corners, which can lead to subsequent, more serious losses. Following proper protocols helps assure the safety of your rebuilding team and your employees, and also will support a business that’s more resilient than it was before the storm.

1. Maintain communications.

A hurricane will likely result in some level of business interruption. Timely, responsive communication is key. Establish and maintain internal and external communications with appropriate parties, including:

• Onsite personnel: Keep in touch with employees who have remained onsite for guidance on their welfare and any supplies or resources they need. 
• Corporate management: As the recovery process continues, provide periodic updates on conditions and progress.
• Your insurance distributor and carrier: You likely called your insurance representatives to begin the claims process. But in addition to providing updates, don’t hesitate to ask for guidance as the recovery process continues. They have the experience and resources you may need during this stressful time.
• Displaced personnel: Deliver updates via channels such as your company website, text messages, social media and/or phone messages. 
• Your customers and vendors: Update your website's homepage or blog to communicate with them. Again, social media and text messaging can help you keep your business connected. You may also want to record daily updates on your general phone line.
• Local and federal governmental agencies: Contact for support and information regarding regional protocols, updates and resources.

2. Put safety first.

A variety of risks can exist in a hurricane-compromised property. Assuring the safety and security of workers has to be your first priority. Some ways to protect yourself and your helpers during the days (and possibly weeks) of the recovery process include:

• Always have properly trained personnel on hand to help assess and navigate the risks.
• Everyone must wear appropriate personal protective equipment, including steel-toed safety boots, hard hats, safety glasses and heavy work gloves.
• Bring additional supplies such as water and disinfecting solutions.
• As you work, be aware of the risk of heat stress. Ample drinking water should be visible as a reminder to hydrate. Workers wearing heavy gear should be limited to 20 minutes per hour in extreme temperatures. 
• Monitor physical stress on employees. More effort than is typically required may be exerted during flood cleanup and other labor-intensive disaster recovery tasks. Overdoing it can result in avoidable injuries. 
• Depending on the extent of damage and type of business, a disaster can expose employees to toxic environments and disease. Providing protective masks may help reduce these risks, but properly trained health and safety specialists should survey the damage as soon as possible. 

3. Familiarize yourself with hazards unique to hurricanes.

Flooding and wind damage from hurricanes can create a variety of structural, chemical and electrical hazards. These include:

• Live electrical wires 
• Broken glass and sharp metal 
• Leaking fuel gases or flammable liquids 
• Damaged building features or contents that may shift or collapse; flooding and wind can loosen shingles and downspouts
• Paved or hardscape areas undermined by wave action and subject to collapse 
• Flammable atmosphere in vapor space of flammable storage tanks 
• Animals and pests that may have relocated during the disaster, seeking shelter

A note about animals: Frightened animals, whether they’re family pets or rats and snakes, may be more likely to bite or scratch people who encounter them. They are often injured in storms, which can make them more dangerous. Do not attempt to handle animals yourself, and seek immediate treatment if bitten or injured by an animal. 

4. Document Damage.

Bring a fully charged smartphone and a backup camera to document conditions with photography and video. Consider a portable energy pack for your phone, too. Document damage to physical structures as well as inventory, supplies, furniture, contents, equipment and business losses from interruption. Track expenses as well.

5. Assess your property.

You should have conducted a rudimentary inspection immediately after the storm. When feasible, you’ll need to perform a more thorough examination of your protection facilities and/or systems for problems that may have gone unnoticed on the first go-round. Building integrity may be reduced, fire protection systems may be impaired, and damaged utilities and processes may present hazards.

Start by verifying the status of protection systems. These include water supplies, fire pumps, automatic sprinklers, fire alarms and security systems. Expedite repairs and post security personnel if protection systems are compromised.

If you haven’t already, clear roof drains, balcony drains and ground-level catch basins and drains, especially if more rain is forecast. If additional floods are predicted in the near term, set up sandbags or other recommended barriers at first-floor doors and entrances. 

6. Plan and initiate repairs.

After you've filed a claim with your insurance provider and discussed the claim with an adjuster, you may be able to consider what repairs may be needed. Zurich customers can find information about filing a claim online at www.zurichna.com/claims.

Depending on the extent of damage, consider bringing in additional staff from other business locations outside the impact zone to assist with your recovery operations. These staff members can include a facilities planner, safety officer and accountant. The extra hands will greatly assist in managing the restoration of operations.

Also, promptly notify the contractors who, it is hoped, you have already secured in advance of hurricane season. Keep in mind:

• Establish repair priorities, including the building envelope, utilities and fire protection systems.
• Always prioritize the protection of your recovery staff and maintain communication with them during cleanup and recovery work. 
• Begin the restoration process, starting with essential equipment and systems, but only after they have been cleared for use by qualified personnel. 

The duration of your property’s shutdown will necessitate different approaches. For more information on restarting operations after a hurricane shutters your business, download these documents from Zurich Risk Engineering: “Management Practices: Locations Unoccupied Long-Term and Restart Procedures” and “Management Practices: Locations Unoccupied Temporarily.”

7. Begin salvage operations as soon as possible.

You may have begun this work immediately after the storm. Depending on the size of your facility, it’s important to get this done as quickly as possible. Steps to take:

• Separate damaged goods.  
• Save all damaged goods. 
• Avoid accumulations of combustible materials inside the building.  
• Avoid storage in areas with impaired fire protection.

Be cautious when removing debris. Wreckage and rubble can hide structural damage and other changes. Workers removing debris must also use proper lifting techniques to avoid potential injuries.

8. Check your data recovery systems.

Since there is advance warning when a hurricane approaches, it is likely that you backed up, transferred and/or transported important business data to an alternate recovery site or secured facility. Your most critical data includes your business license, major contracts and legal documents, tax returns and financial statements, and other important business and customer documents. Following a disaster, make sure these vital records are still securely accessible from the devices you'll be using.¹

9. Clean and disinfect as soon as you can.

Whatever the strength of a tropical storm or hurricane, lingering rain and damp conditions can lead to flooding and water damage. The rapid growth of mold and bacteria after floodwaters seep into a property can create serious setbacks to storm recovery, both from property and health standpoints. Controlling and mitigating mold damage is not a difficult process, but it’s a crucial step that needs to be done as soon as possible.

Once the water recedes and you’ve documented damage, begin cleaning your business (with your team or by hiring a qualified professional). If you still have standing water, rent a sump pump to remove it. Electric fans, portable dehumidifiers and water vacuums can help dry out smaller areas, but only when it’s safe to begin using them (i.e., your electric systems are safely functioning and there is no standing water).

Clean, then disinfect all surfaces with hot water and bleach. Dry thoroughly. Decide whether furniture and other water-contaminated materials (floorboards, paneling, etc.) can be salvaged and dried or if they need to be discarded.

10. Conduct a review.

When your business is operating again, take the time to review your hurricane response and recovery processes. What worked, and what didn’t? Did the vendors you contracted with come through? Were mistakes made from lack of planning? Were there critical tasks you overlooked? Talk to your employees and reassess how effective your plan was. And don’t forget to acknowledge the things you did right and thank everyone who helped in the crisis. You’ll be better prepared for the next challenge.

These recovery actions should be part of a fully developed hurricane Emergency Response Plan (ERP). The articles below detail the other three major components of a windstorm ERP: mitigation, preparedness and immediate response. Taken together, they can provide your business with a path to reduced risks and faster recovery. 

 ^{1.“Rebuilding Your Business After a Natural Disaster.” Business News Daily. 12 May 2020.}

The information in this publication was compiled from sources believed to be reliable for informational purposes only. All sample policies and procedures herein should serve as a guideline, which you can use to create your own policies and procedures. We trust that you will customize these samples to reflect your own operations and believe that these samples may serve as a helpful platform for this endeavor. Any and all information contained herein is not intended to constitute advice (particularly not legal advice). Accordingly, persons requiring advice should consult independent advisors when developing programs and policies. We do not guarantee the accuracy of this information or any results and further assume no liability in connection with this publication and sample policies and procedures, including any information, methods or safety suggestions contained herein. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any of this information, whether to reflect new information, future developments, events or circumstances or otherwise. Moreover, Zurich reminds you that this cannot be assumed to contain every acceptable safety and compliance procedure or that additional procedures might not be appropriate under the circumstances. The subject matter of this publication is not tied to any specific insurance product nor will adopting these policies and procedures ensure coverage under any insurance policy.