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Social observers know that even the threat of a hurricane can send dizzying throngs to the grocery and hardware stores.
The shelves are emptied of water, cans of tuna, batteries, plywood and nails. There is a run on gasoline as residents anywhere in the predicted ‘cone of potential impact’ fuel up each and every vehicle, ready to take immediate flight should an actual hurricane form and an imminent threat be headed their way.
While a hurricane like Erika is still out in the Caribbean, you can be assured of lively debate in households about whether it’s ‘time’ to put up the hurricane shutters.
The length of this debate is directly affected by whether said shutters are the easily deployed accordion or roll types, or the older, more difficult to secure “panel” type shutters. Those residents fortunate enough to have hurricane impact-resistant glass may find themselves with little debate at all.
There are those people who will pointedly ignore any threat short of hundred-mile plus wind and turbulent storm surge, sniffing at all times prior to this the activities of the ‘overly-prepared.’ A few hardy souls will laugh off the threat, thinking only to lay in perhaps an extra liter of vodka and bags of potato chips for the ‘hurricane party.’
After all, storms are notoriously hard to predict, right?
So these people are—fortunately for them, and actually fortunately for all of us– usually right.
The problem is, sometimes they’re not. And that can prove deadly.
Your first priority in the event of a real hurricane impact is making sure you and your loved ones are safe.
You also likely have some personal belongings that are very important, and it’s a good idea to know what those are. It’s a great idea to know this ahead of time.
Having a good plan to protect the people and things that are important to you is essential.
But what about your business? What is your plan to protect your important records and vital data? Envision your computer system shorted out because of rising water, or all your records swept away by a day-long windstorm. What would you lose?
Being prepared can be as simple as following a good checklist. Following is a short, general list that can get your thinking started.
- You have them, right? Are they physical copies that need to be stored off-site? Or are they in the cloud? What’s backed up? Financial records? Purchase orders? Customer database? Insurance documents?
- Electronics: a simple step of wrapping in plastic can make the difference in losing valuable equipment—and time—should water breach your roof.
- Generator: do you have one for your business? Can you keep going if power is not available to your part of the city? Have you tested your generator lately? Do you have enough power cords?
- Employees: Do you have a convenient way for everyone to stay in contact? A communications plan can be worth its weight in gold in the event of a disaster. You’ll certainly want to make sure that emergency contacts are included.
- Pictures: an insurance claim is much easier to prove if you have documented evidence, either via still pictures or video, of the physical plant of your business, plus the valuable equipment.
For more great tips on making sure your business weathers any storm, get FEMA’s Business Toolkit.
If you’d like some expert advice about securing the records and data for your business, 5i Solutions, Inc. can help. 5i offers innovative ideas to capture and store what is important to your business—from document management solutions, to document imaging and processing, and data hosting in our secure Cloud Vault.
5i Solutions can ensure that your records and vital business data are never, ever threatened again.
5i Solutions, Inc. One single, secure point of intake, access, and storage. One singular solution.
Learn more at http://5iSolutionsInc.com
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