3 steps your small business needs to remember post hurricane

June 21, 2019

 
Hurricanes are something all of us dread, whether we own a business or don’t. They can be terribly destructive and leave an aftermath in their wake that can be stressful to deal with. Water damage, power outages, loss of business, the list goes on. Being prepared for a hurricane is already ingrained in most of us who are used to living in Florida, we know to make sure to stock up on essentials. But sometimes knowing what to do after a hurricane is a different matter, not all of us know what to do. But knowing what steps to take after a hurricane is essential for businesses. There are three major steps for businesses when it comes to recovering from a hurricane. 
 

1. Assess the damages 

After the danger is over, you’ll need to assess the situation. Make sure that you document all damages or potential damages with photos and videos to provide to your insurance. At this time, you shouldn’t turn on any equipment that might have been exposed to water because it could cause damage to the device. Just do an overall check to see if you need to contact your insurance to cover any damages that you may have incurred, then contact a service company for your equipment and IT professionals who know how to recover files on potentially damaged computer disks. Check backups and stored documents to make sure you have access to all your important documents. 

2. File your insurance claim and apply for an SBA disaster loan 

Once you’ve determined what kind of damages you have, the next step is to contact your insurance company. The sooner you file your claim the better, because no doubt a lot of other people and businesses will be filing similar claims. So, if you take too much time to file your claim it could take a long time for you to get the funds you need for repairs. You should also take the time to review your policy and all that it covers in case your insurance company won't cover everything. In which case you could apply for an SBA disaster loan in order to cover the rest of the damages not covered. 

3. Equipment repair 

Get in contact with any service/repair people for your equipment so that you can make sure that everything is still going to function properly. They will be able to safely remove any parts damaged by water or moisture so that you can get back to work as soon as possible. Remove any hard drives from computers that may have been damaged so your IT company can begin the recovery process, if you think that a computer has any sort of water damage avoid turning it on. Because that could cause the computer to short circuit and cause severe damage to the machine. Using dehumidifiers and running fans and ac can really help dry up the excess moisture left over from the storm and aid in getting things back up and running.  
 

Disaster recovery is never fast or easy but being prepared can really help make things easier for you. A few things you can do on a normal basis can also make it easier to be prepared for disaster. Making sure to backup important documents to the cloud and performing regular backups of your computer can help you be prepared any time a disaster may hit. Having a reliable IT company, who can check out your computers after a disaster and get you back up and running. And making sure that you stay on top of securing your important business documents are all a part of being prepared for disaster and can help you make your business as prepared as possible.