Protecting Your Business From Hurricanes: Natural Disaster Preparedness in Tech

For businesses operating in hurricane-prone regions like Florida, preparing for storm season is crucial to safeguarding your operations, assets, and tech infrastructure. Major hurricanes can unleash devastating winds, flooding, and destruction, posing substantial risks to your property, inventory, equipment, and data if proactive precautions aren’t taken. Implement this comprehensive preparedness plan to fortify your business against hurricane fallout and ensure a swift recovery. Please refer to the Hillsborough County website for specifics to safeguard your home and family.

Disaster Preparedness Planning

Develop a detailed disaster plan outlining procedures to secure facilities, protect physical/digital assets, and maintain business continuity. Assign clear roles and responsibilities.
Establish emergency communications protocols to keep employees, clients, and vendors informed about operational status and disruptions.
Identify backup sites or work-from-home contingencies if your primary location is compromised.

Facility & Asset Protection

Invest in impact-resistant windows/doors, storm shutters, and reinforce roofing/siding to harden your building.
Stock emergency supplies like plywood, sandbags, tarps, plastic sheeting to prevent water intrusion and protect equipment.
Secure or relocate exterior items that could become projectiles in high winds.
Move vital inventory, equipment, electronics away from exterior walls/windows. Elevate items stored in basements.
Ensure backup generators, sump pumps, fire suppression systems are operational. Stockpile fuel.

Technology & Data Safeguards

Implement robust data backup and disaster recovery solutions storing critical data/systems offsite or in the cloud.
Maintain redundant internet/network connectivity and backup communication methods.
Routinely back up all data, applications, and configurations to minimize loss and accelerate recovery.
Safely shut down, disconnect and secure server rooms, networking equipment, workstations before evacuating.
Have a plan to quickly re-provision cloud resources, restore from backups, and virtualize failed infrastructure.
Relocate any desktop computers, electronics, or other IT equipment resting on the floor to elevated surfaces.

Technology is vulnerable to water damage, so raising floor-level devices like desktop towers can prevent costly losses from flooding during a hurricane.

Vendor & Insurance Considerations

Communicate with key vendors/suppliers to understand their hurricane plans and build supply chain redundancy.
Purchase maximum available commercial wind/flood insurance coverage; document all assets for potential claims.
Identify alternative shipping/receiving sites, cold storage, suppliers for emergency procurement.

Don’t wait until a storm is imminent – developing and testing a multi-layered disaster plan is essential for businesses to endure the disruptions of hurricane season while protecting personnel, facilities, operations, and irreplaceable data/tech assets. Consistent preparedness is key to resilience.

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