Hurricane Preparedness for Business

Volusia County Economic Development

August 29, 2023

Hurricane season officially starts June 1. Planning ahead for a disaster can save business owners thousands of dollars in lost revenue due to structural damage, content damage, interruption of operations and employee displacement.

Did you know that 40% of businesses never reopen their doors post-disaster? We encourage all business owners to prepare their business for the season with the Volusia Prepares Business program checklist.

Plan and Prepare Your Business

Protect and prepare your business with a Business Disaster Continuity Plan

• Review property insurance to determine if you have adequate hazard, flood, wind and business interruption insurance.
• Video and photo document your property, vehicles and inventory before and after the disaster to assist with verifying insurance and tax credit claims.
• Determine what emergency equipment and supplies are needed to protect and repair your business.
• Establish plans to protect computers and backup your files. Store backup files in an alternate location.
• Assemble insurance policies, financial records, inventories and other important documents. Make duplicates and store in alternate safe places.
• Move files and equipment to higher elevations.
• Shutter windows and sandbag doors. Cover sensitive equipment.
• Have a generator ready as a backup until power is restored.
• Encourage your employees to create a family emergency plan – the sooner they take care of their personal preparations, the quicker they can help prepare your business.
• Create a Crisis Communication Plan to communicate with customers, suppliers and employees.
• Develop an employee alert roster to notify employees during nonworking hours about the status of business operations.
• Protect employees and only schedule essential personnel during the storm.
• Arrange alternate payroll methods for your employees with your banking institution after the disaster.
• Retain a list of emergency support phone numbers for various needs and distribute it to your employees.
• Know the community’s evacuation plan and evacuation routes.
• Update your plan quarterly and be sure all existing employees and new hires understand the plan.

Bookmark, Download, Register, Follow & Contact

Bookmark

• Volusia County PIN Network – Public information officers collaborate and coordinate public information before, during and after disasters.
• FloridaDisaster.biz – This site was developed to provide businesses, small and large, easy access to critical information before, during and after a disaster.
• National Weather Service Melbourne – Visit this site for current local weather information.

Download

Volusia County Emergency Management App – This helpful app contains advanced features that can keep  Volusia County residents prepared and informed about any emergency at hand.

Register

CodeRED – Register to be notified by your local emergency response team in the event of emergency situations or critical community alerts.

Follow

Follow Volusia County Emergency Management on Twitter and Facebook.

Contact

• Citizens Information Center (activated only during disasters) – Retain this phone number, 866-345-0345, for shelter information, sandbag locations and other disaster updates. The number for the Telecommunication Device for the Deaf is 386-248-1792.