Create an Emergency Kit and Plan for Your Business This Hurricane Season

An assortment of items for a hurricane preparedness kit.

Hurricane season is fast approaching. And with each season growing longer and storms getting larger and more intense each year, business owners face increasing risks—and costs—in keeping their business resilient.

Florida ranks first in monetary damages caused by hurricanes, and this doesn’t take into account affiliated costs, like increased insurance rates, unclaimed costs, and preparation expenses. Creating an emergency plan that takes steps to reduce costs and get you back to business faster, from installing hurricane shutters to securing important files, is crucial in making sure your business can weather the next storm.

As long-term residents of Florida and commercial property experts, we’ve assembled our best tips for protecting your business (and your employees!) from these common and dangerous storms. Keep reading to learn how you can get started creating your own hurricane season business preparation plan

Create an Emergency Plan for Employees

Creating an emergency hurricane plan for employees is a crucial step for Florida businesses. A good plan should be comprehensive, covering a range of weather scenarios and other disruptions should also be well-integrated into your operations, with every employee knowing what to do before, during, and after a hurricane to stay safe and get your business back to business, as quickly as possible. Let’s take a look at key foundational components of a good emergency plan.

Emergency Response Team

Start by assembling a team of responsible employees to develop your plan.

For larger companies, this team should include representatives from all departments to incorporate different perspectives and expertise—and ensure that individual department and employee needs are considered.

Once the plan is created, clearly define roles and responsibilities by assigning specific tasks to individuals. By delegating important tasks, you can be sure that critical steps are covered during an emergency. However, it’s equally as important to have each individual’s duties documented, so that if that person isn’t available, another team member can easily step in.

Key roles may include:

• Emergency Plan Coordinator

• Training Coordinator

• Communication Lead

• Facility Protection Manager

• IT and Data Protection Lead

• Employee Health and Safety Manager

• Financial and Insurance Lead

• Human Resources Coordinator

A sign reading hurricane season in front of a stormy sky

Communication Procedures and Tools

Communication is a vital component of any emergency plan. As you develop your plan, you’ll need to establish a clear line of communication to keep all employees informed about impending storms, business closures, expectations, and procedures.

Build and Manage an Employee Contact Lists

Start by creating and regularly updating a comprehensive contact list for all employees, including their emergency contacts. Test this list before hurricane season to ensure its accuracy and maintain hard copies in secure locations both on-site and with your emergency response team leaders.

Establish Communication Procedures

If you have a larger business, the best way to communicate during emergencies is through an emergency notification system. These systems allow you to send targeted messages to different groups—such as on-site employees, remote workers, and vendors—and can automate alerts based on current weather conditions. Additionally, prepare for scenarios where traditional communication channels may not work by establishing alternative methods, like satellite phones or two-way radios, to ensure you can stay connected with essential parties.

Create a Communication Plan

Your “communication lead” should work with other team members to create plans for how and when to notify employees. Have a system in place that lays out when to relay verified storm information and protocols to your team promptly. Within your communication plans, include details on when the business should close (and announce those closures!) to give employees enough time to reach a safe location.

Employee Training

Training is essential to be certain that everyone understands procedures—a single employee with the wrong information could disrupt your entire plan. Conduct regular training sessions and drills (especially before the start of hurricane season!), to keep the procedures fresh in employees’ minds. It’s also important to warn employees of any upcoming drills while emphasizing the need to treat them seriously. After each drill, gather feedback to identify areas for improvement and update the plan as needed.

Protect Your Commercial Property

When preparing your business for hurricane season, prepping your structures and putting plans in place to safeguard your buildings, equipment, and data during a storm is essential to minimize damage and ensure a quicker recovery.

Protect Your Property and Structures

Ahead of the season, make sure your structures are in good repair and any possible storm protective measures are in place. Our post, Tips For Residential & Equestrian Properties, covers many of the basic measures that you can take to prepare your property. These include:

Doors and windows: Protecting doors and windows during a storm is crucial. Not only do they save you from dealing with broken glass and water damage, but they can possibly reduce your insurance deductible. If your building doesn’t have hurricane shutters and installing them isn’t in your budget, purchase 1/2 to 3/4-inch marine plywood to fit to each window, storing the boards in an accessible location. Install the plywood before rain even starts, drilling screws 18 inches apart.

Trees: Regularly remove weak and dead tree limbs near your property to prevent them from becoming dangerous projectiles during a storm. Don’t wait until the last minute, as there might not be time to dispose of debris safely before the storm hits.

Flooding: Know your flood zone by checking with the county or using the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Prepare with sandbags especially if your business is in a low-lying area. If flooding occurs, evacuate employees to higher ground even if the water seems shallow.

Roof: Before each hurricane season, inspect your roof for any damage or weak spots that could be exacerbated by heavy rainfall. These include loose shingles, mounts, and supports. Consider installing hurricane ties for extra support.

Lastly, make sure you have all the supplies needed to protect your physical property ready to go before hurricane season begins. Create a supply center, stocked with essential supplies including sandbags, mops, rags, cleaning supplies, trash bags, shovels, axes, smaller hand tools, plywood, lumber, nails, hoses, portable pumps, ropes, fasteners, bungee cords, duct tape, tarps, plastic sheeting, and building schematics that include electrical and plumbing details.

Taking these steps will help protect your business’s physical location and equipment, reducing the risk of severe damage during a hurricane.

Protect Business Documents and Digital Information

Protecting your business files during hurricane season is essential for maintaining business continuity and safeguarding sensitive information. Take steps to protect physical documents, such as insurance policies, legal contracts, and financial records from loss and damage.

Safeguard Physical Documents

For physical documents, consider making digital copies and storing them in cloud storage. At the minimum, you’ll want to have additional physical copies of key documents, securing them offsite in a safe location. Invest in watertight storage lockers to shield any original copies you prefer to keep onsite from flooding.

Backup and Secure Digital Files

For your digital files, creating regular backups is vital. As we mentioned above, cloud-based storage offers an effective way to protect your data, as it relies on off-site servers that are not impacted by local weather events. Regularly schedule and test these backups to make sure that your data can be quickly restored if needed.

To further protect your digital files, ensure that all devices, including computers, phones, and other electronic equipment, are secured with strong passwords. Enabling tracking features on these devices can also help in the event of looting or theft during a hurricane. Finally, as we mentioned above, be sure to establish a team lead who is responsible for handling backups and restoring files during and after emergencies.

Double-Check Insurance Coverages

Review your insurance policies well before hurricane season. Because many take 30 days to become effective, waiting until a storm is imminent may be too late if a current policy doesn’t cover all your needs. Additionally, take the time to document all assets thoroughly (using photos), to ensure proper reimbursement in case of damage. Store copies of your insurance policies in a secure location offsite.

Be aware that Florida insurance policies for hurricane damage may include additional deductibles, and standard policies often exclude flood damage. Carefully review your policy terms and discuss any coverage questions with your agent. Since insurance payouts can be delayed, it may be a good idea to maintain an emergency expense fund or a business line of credit to cover immediate repair and cleanup costs.

Assemble an Emergency Kit

Your employees are the life of your company—you couldn’t survive or thrive without them. Keeping them safe and healthy should be a top priority in all your preparedness plans. An emergency kit can help ensure that when facing a range of conditions and circumstances.

When putting together your emergency kit, be sure to take into account your number of locations and employees to be sure every individual is covered, at each location. As FEMA details, essential items for hurricane emergency kits include:

• A portable charger (aim to charge it at least once a month to ensure readiness for disasters).

• A supply of nonperishable food for all employees, enough to last a few days.

• A supply of fresh drinking water, sufficient for each employee for at least three days.

• A battery-operated radio.

• Spare batteries for all battery-operated devices.

• Flashlights.

• Whistles or flares to signal for help.

• Tarps, plastic bags, and duct tape; essential for sealing broken windows to prevent further water damage.

• Cleaning supplies, including buckets and mops.

• An electric generator kept in a safe environment.

• Fire extinguishers.

You should also keep on hand a list of all relevant emergency services phone numbers and websites so that employees can contact these services if necessary. This could include local police numbers, FEMA and Florida Disaster, and your local Florida utility companies. Know that you may have trouble getting through right away—be patient, stay safe, and know that help will find you soon.

How Showcase Can Help Keep Your Business Protected

At Showcase, we understand the unique challenges that Florida businesses face, particularly when it comes to our tropical (and sometimes stormy!) climate. Helping you find the right property that keeps your business, equipment, and employees safe is our top priority.

Whether you’re relocating or opening a new branch of your business in Florida and worried about weather-related issues, or are seeking a newer, more secure location to keep your business and employees secure, we can help. When you partner with us, we’ll take the time to examine each property to ensure it meets your needs and abates your concerns, from referencing flood maps to helping you find an inspector that specializes in hurricane safety.

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Reach out to a real estate agent in Marion County or Alachua County today. Our experts are ready to provide personalized advice tailored to your specific needs—and the unique demands of Florida’s weather!