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Government’s Role in a Disaster

Feb 17
Posted by admin in Business Continuity Planning, Business Disruption, Business Interruption, Business Preparedness Steps, Emergency Management, Hurricane Preparedness, Personal Preparedness, Scenario Planning

Damage Levy


Economics of a Disaster

When a large disaster hits a community or a region it brings commerce to a halt, often for weeks. It is common knowledge that many small businesses go out of business because they cannot “weather the storm.” A business that is currently losing money or not making much money is very vulnerable to any down time. They cannot afford to lose their customer base to another business who is able to open. These small businesses are concerned about getting open soon – to get money flowing in, to keep employees working and paid. Basically, without money coming in the business cannot pay employees or their commitments. When employees don’t get paid they cannot purchase and they cannot pay their commitments. The circle of the economics in the region is flat – halted and in trouble. When no money circulates – no one has it. We are all dependent upon money changing hands every day. I pay you, you buy groceries, the grocery company pays for the product and operational costs which enable all companies involved to stay in business.
A quick and straight forward example would be the island of Kuai in Hawaii. In 1992 Hurricane “Iniki” devistated the island and the tourists were evacuated along with some residents. Everything came to a quick halt. Being isolated made the challenge even harder. Islands are extremely dependent upon goods from other places. With no tourists there is little money coming in – especially when the crops were shredded as well.
What can be done to jump start this island economy again? I was a part of the solution. I will answer this a little later.

Businesses

Medium to Large companies/corporations carry insurance for interruptions and disasters but that insurance often has a very high deductible. It is often in the millions of dollars per occurance. Large companies are generallly not looking for government assitance with their loss. However, some medium and most certainly many of the small businesses do look for federal assistance. Either they don’t have insurance, are under insured or they do not have the ability to come up with the deductible on their own by way of their cash reserves or via a loan at a local bank. If they have great insurance, they will be better off even though recovery may still be slow.

Homeowners

Homeowners that have a mortgage have income coming in via some type of job or another source. A large portion of the jobs are usually a part and parcel of the local economy – although certainly not all. When your house is damaged and your family is placed into a tough situation, it can be extremely stressful to be suddenly not able to go to your home and now you must live elsewhere. The infrastructure is damaged – life seems to be focused on survival – not necessarily starvation but emotional and phyiscal survival. The business you work for is also down. So even if you could go to work, you can’t. I have to admit, fear comes upon you when you think about no home, no work and the area is turned upside down. But most people well react if given an opportunity and some way to do so – some hope. If there is light at the end of the tunnel, we all want to move towards it. But who will provide that light? Who do I have to pay to get the light turned on so to speak?
I cannot pay my mortage, I don’t have much cash on hand and my credit cards will be maxed out soon. I have no income and my home and belongings are destroyed. I am hurting – my whole family is hurting. I want this feeling to end!

State and Local Government

Management of highways, bridges, stop lights, police, fire, ambulance, emergency response, security/safety of the inhabitants falls upon State and Local Governments. The infrastructure of the region can be severely damaged. So much so that even if your home is liveable and your job still needs you to get there, it might be impossible. You might be restricted from leaving your area or from entering another area. You are not alone in this problem either. You need things back to normal as quickly as possible. But, how will that happen and who will do it?

Federal Government

States have some reserve funds for disasters but it usually doesn’t go very far. They call upon FEMA and SBA to assist them and the businesses of the area. If money can be infused and used to repair or rebuild the infrastructure, to repair and rebuild businesses and even repair and the rebuild of homes that are not insured or that are underinsured, then we can get a jump start to getting the circle of the economy going again.
FEMA will help the State pay for the costs involved in repair or replacement of roads, bridges and all aspects of the infrastructure including clean up. FEMA can help stabilize families for a short period of time through Individual Assistance by way of “grant” money. They will quickly determine if your home is “safe, habiltable and secure.” If a small grant will help the home be that way then here comes the grant money. However, if a small amount of money won’t do it a family is then refered to the Small Business Administration’s Disaster Loan Program. SBA does an assessment of damages to the home, determines what if anything your insurance company will pay for and then tries to provide you with a low interest loan for the difference or the whole amount. The loan is payable over 20-30 years so that it is affordable. Even if your insurance should happen to cover the damages, but you are in a long term dispute with the insurance company, SBA can help by loaning the money to you until the insurance proceeds come in. SBA is then paid back by the insurance proceeds (hopefully for all of it but if not, SBA will carry the difference). You are then returned back to normal sooner than without that help. If your insurance is “Johnny on the Spot” and will cover everything, then you chose wisely.
If a business has no insurance or is under insured the SBA will determine the damages to the facility, to equipment and to your inventory due to the disaster. If possible, SBA will provide you with a low interest loan to begin repairs, to buy inventory, to repair/replace damaged equipment and they will spot you operating funds to get going again. The sooner you get open, the sooner you can pay for employees to return and of course serve your customers.

Benefits to Government Involvement

    You could have your business saved
    You could have your home back to predisaster condition
    You go back to work
    You can travel freely again
    Your kids can go back to school
    You can get help for your home and personal belongings
    You get some help – a jump start to recovery

What Benefit does Government get from helping?

Taxes are being paid again because the circle of the economy is going again. Certainly they are to help those who need help and that is a higher cause but initially, if the government didn’t get involved, many would have to turn to welfare and other programs paid for by other tax payers. You see, everything has to be in place again for you to return to “normal.” FEMA does not buy you a new home or anything like that and SBA really does make you pay them back. The government is not free insurance in this case. If so everyone would drop their home owners and wait for the government to hand them the money. No, it is much wiser than that. I have seen it work well since the 70′s when I saw it first in action.

Hits on FEMA and SBA

They don’t move fast enough. They get that a lot of course. They are not first responders – it isn’t in their charter even though people expect them to be first responders. Could they move faster though? Yes, they are improving delivery every year of their programs. You have to know that the State must request disaster assistance from FEMA and SBA. The feds cannot overstep their bounds as states have rights in this area. The states are to shoulder the role of emergency management/first resonders until the federal government is involved. Then it is a coordinated effort. The scenes of Katrina still plague us. There was a break down at all levels of government. Local, State and yes Federal. The winds didn’t do the horrific damage, it was the water from a break in the levy. Far too many people were not evacuated from New Orleans like they should have – busses didn’t run. Nursing homes were still full. The plan broke down and everyone went to the superdome. You all know the history there. The lessons learned are many. But you must know that is was the infusion of Federal Money combined with private donations and private citizens that helped New Orleans recover. The circle of economy was slow to get started. Initially there wasn’t a large enough customer base for businesses because the homes weren’t habitable in a reasonable time frame. They weren’t getting repaired – there was an insurance battle going on behind the scenes over coverages for hurricanes versus water intrusion. Besides, without a proper solution to the levy system, no one could get a permit or insurance. I have been there many times since Katrina and each time the city looks better than the last but it still isn’t 100% back to normal. New Orleans needs tourism to survive and it is slowly coming back as well.

Conclusion

Government does serve a vital role in disasters. It makes state and local entities have disaster plans which have to be tested. It encourages individuals and businesses to have disaster plans. It carries the expertise and the equipment to step in to assist us in getting back to normal. No matter how bad the rap is that it gets, it doesn’t shy away from the powerful role that they must play. That FEMA or SBA worker that is there to help has left their family in love ones to assist you. It isn’t easy to be in a disaster zone for them either. Lodging and food are basic – difficulties exist but they complete their jobs and then go home with some satisfaction that they helped make a difference when a difference was critically needed.

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A Flooded Home – Why it is so Serious

Jan 07
Posted by admin in Business Continuity Planning, Personal Preparedness

The excess rain and snow in the country has given me the idea to write about what water can do to a home. You see flooded homes in the news and you hope it is never you – but what if it is? Are you prepared to take care of it before and after? In the following sections, I will take you through steps to protect your home where possible and steps to do following significant water intusion.

Protection of Your Home

  • 1) Make sure that the soil around your house slopes away from the foundation and that it isn’t so high that it doesn’t show some foundation. The foundation is a protection but above it is siding/wood and it can be penetrated.
  • 2) Sometimes your foundation can be penetrated due to cracks or the seal between the footings and the foundation wall is compromised. If possible, make sure water prone areas are sealed.
  • 3) Many homeowners who face a lot of water near the foundation will install “French Drains” to move small amounts of excess water away from the foundation. If there is a lot of water possible near the foundation then you can have a drainage system installed with a pump to move the water away. These do cost money but first, before you spend money, ensure that there is a sloping landscape away from your home.
  • 4) Ensure that you have proper gutters to catch rain water from the roof. If your gutter spout puts water next to the foundation, then get an extension and put it on your drain spout. It should be 8′ or more in length to ensure that water is moving away from the home.
  • 5) Sand Bags are a fairly good protection when the time comes that water is threatening your home from a stream, river or creek etc. Yes, counties and cities will start efforts to get sandbags, sand and personnel but you might be one of several thousand who need it. If you are near a stream or river that can flood then you should invest in some sandbags now and store them. Find a place on your property and put a pile of sand there for the kids and then use it later. Sand forms well in sandbags so that the gaps are “filled in” between bags. You do not fill the bags full – 60-70% is enough. Fold the top over and under the bag as you place it on the ground. Each time you do that it seals the opening – you will save time and will love this when you take the bags down – they can be used over and over. If you go over more than about 3 rows or so high around your house then you should look at making a double row which will help support itself from possible falling forward or backwards of the bags. Ofcourse, this requires more bags and more sand. Some people like to put plastic sheeting down and up the side of the home entrances so water penetration points have added/extra protection from any water instrusion. Place the plastic so that the sand bag sits right near the front edge and the plastic goes up the house several feet. Ensure that the sandbag holds the plastic in place and up tight to the house siding/door/glass. This seals the area. If you don’t use this plastic sheeting method, you can move the sandbags out and a distance away from the house. I have seen several walls between the river/stream/creek and the house in an effort to move water away in some fashion before it gets near the home. Again, this needs a lot of bags, sand and people to do it but it can be fairly successful. Many homes around the U.S. have been saved by sandbags when one knows the water will be rising and cresting above flood stage.
  • 6) Berms — sometimes just plain dirt or sand can be an effective protection device. It might make a mess of your lawn but it is very fast and effective. All you need is a backhoe and some soil. You can make it wide and high enough to help protect your home. Contractors will drop everything to provide you, who is willing to pay, with this service and they can do it in a few hours. The problem is, that you have to pay to get it back off and to redo your landscape. But, in a pinch you can save your home and belongings. This is important especially near fast moving water. It is exactly what the Corp of Engineers will do or the County/City where they need to “shore up” the river banks/levees etc.

Recovery After the Waters get into Your Home

  • 1) Get the water out of the home ASAP. The longer it stays in the home the more damage it does (discussed later). Often you don’t have much of a choice as Mother Nature does what she wants concerning duration. But if you can, get it out quickly.
  • 2) Dry Out Your Home — it is critical that absorbed water is also removed from the home. Dirty muddy water is really bad. It only gets worse as time goes by. So open up the windows and get fans – lots of fans – powerful fans that move lots of air through the home.
  • 3) If the water has been in the home for 12-24 hours or more you should consider pulling the carpet up as well as the pad. They will not dry out because your subfloor is wet and your walls will be wet (discussed in a minute). If you have any concerns about doing this and what your insurance will do, call them and tell them what you are doing. Rarely will they argue with this concept. If you can’t get ahold of them take photos first and then do it. Put it out on the front lawn for easy removal for you or someone else. Concentrate now on drying out the subfloor that is exposed for that purpose.
  • 4) Walls — behind the sheetrock is insulation. Insulation has a “wicking” capability. That is, it will pick up moisture and run it up higher than your realize and it is really hard to dry out since the air you are moving can’t get to it. Generally what is done, is, the bottom of the sheetrock is removed by running a sheetrock knife down the seam – usually at the 4′ level. Sheetrock is cheap in comparison to labor that it takes to saw your way along at 2 or 3′ where there is no seam. When sheetrockers come in to replace the sheetrock they will take off the rock to the seam for the same reason it is there to start with – to tape it and to feather out the taping compound out so you can’t see seams. Pull the insulation out up to the same 4′ level and put it out on the front lawn near your carpet for easy removal. Now you have air getting to your 2×4′s and anything else that got wet. Don’t worry about 2×4′s, they can and will dry out just like wood is supposed to do.
  • 5) Mold, Mildew, Fungus and Spores. Well, this is the very serious part of this article. All of the areas touched by water, especially dirty water, can and will grow mold and more. As described above you must remove all moisture ASAP in order to keep the mold from growing (taking away moisture removes the food it needs to grow). Regardless, you have to take proactive measures even if only small amounts of water (a few inches) makes it into the house. Heat is also something mold/mildew needs to grow. Do not try to live in your house if you have had significant water instrusion until you have the interior tested for mold, mildew and spores that come off of those areas via the air (airbourne spores). Spores get into your lungs and they cause very serious problems and even death. A professional company should be called in to regularly spray the affected areas of the home. If you cannot afford to do that, you can mix a mild mixture of Bleach/Water to spray on the affected areas yourself. Bleach will kill the mold if applied many times. The mold will pull the water in and the bleach will kill it. A mixture of 1 part bleach to 20 parts water will work. The key is do it a couple of times a day or more if it is hot and humid in your area. Doing it once won’t cut it. Sure, straight bleach will kill it but you won’t be able to live there for a long time either.
  • 6) Mud and Slime – this is the worst of the worst. Mud has nasty stuff in it. If you remove it yourself, make completely sure that you have a proper MASK, GLOVES, PANTS, EYE PROTECTION and RUBBER BOOTS. You cannot let it touch your lungs, your eyes or your skin as you have no idea what is in it. People go in and search for their valuables and don’t even think about protection. I saw this in so many different disasters that water/mud has been involved including Katrina. Yes, many people got sick from that part alone. Respiratory problems may not show up for some time after you do something stupid. Have an area outside and away from your home to wash you down after being in contact with the mud or slime. Then, take a thorough shower aftewards. If you will do this you can feel safe from the unseen little things that want to hurt or kill you. Don’t forget, mold and mildew will grow after you remove mud since mud has moisture in it too

    • Conclusion

    In short, if you want to take control of your situation you can do so without waiting for someone to do it for you. But, you must be careful and you must be protected. Generally, if you were to bring in professionals to do what you are thinking about doing they would have the best masks, eye protection, rubberized clothing and boots. So, why would you think you are different and don’t need it? It is mind boggling to see the many who think only of valuables or getting stuff out of their house when in reality, if they took precations they would not suffer from the second and potentially more serious disaster = illness that is short term or long term. This you have control over! So please, please be careful and think before you move. Use wisdom in your choices. You can slip and fall, get something through your foot and a bunch of other physical problems that come from not being careful enough.

    Be careful and make good choices in this area!

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Business – Steps to Recovery

Dec 08
Posted by admin in Business Continuity Planning, Business Disruption, Business Interruption, Business Preparedness Steps, Emergency Management, Hurricane Preparedness, Scenario Planning, Uncategorized

Most of the time, the thoughts of any major business disruption occuring at any business is almost completely off the radar. Because of this, proper steps to create a plan are also not a priority. Because we don’t believe it can happen to us, we don’t do much with any fleeting thought about getting it done. So, with that said, many businesses have not prepared properly for an event or it is so old that it won’t be effective if you try to use it. Perhaps they think it will take too much time and energy.
Let me go through some basics and try to show you that if you will address these key areas you will build a plan. Once the basic elements are covered you can add detail and specifics to tasks and responsibilities which would be the who, what, when, where and how of each task that must be done.

1. Detection – You have to know that something has happened before you will do anything about it. Many companies have automatic alarms for certain things at the facility. If an earthquake hits, a tornado or a flood happens we usually try to get better information to know if it affects our business. We try to drive there but we must know. That is step one.
2. Stablilze the Situation — If it happens while you are at work you must make sure everyone is safe before you do anything else. If it is to evacuate, to send home or perhaps you have injured employees then take care of them, they are more important than business cares. In large disasters, there will be no 911 response – it will be you – so be ready for it.
3. Escalation — Once a “disaster” has occured and it has or will affect your business operations then that basic information must get to the key decision makers. They are the owners, the officers and leaders of the company and they must give you the power to act, to spend and to accomplish – at least on the major things that must be done. Time and effort cannot be put in the wrong direction at the wrong time unless there is no other choice. Call them, text them – have that ability to get them day or night. Don’t be shy, it is better that they know than to find out another way.
4. Notification – Call the people you need immediately to start getting a response effort organized. You can’t do it all by yourself and the longer you don’t call others to help is time mostly wasted. So much more can be done with others at your side. You will see the need as you read through these steps.
5. Damage Assessment — The reason that this isn’t number three is damage assessments can take time and you can’t wait to escalate what you know to the top so they are aware and tracking everything you do from that moment on. You need them and you will want them engaged. You can provide more details to them as it is gathered and verified. “How bad is it?” That will always be their first question. Once you have people to help in this effort (notification efforts) you will have some core people to work with. Get them assigned to gather information – some by media sources others in person at the site if at all possible. Then, make sense of the information you are getting from them so you can report you initial findings to the top person or people. Then take some direction from them if they give it or if they ask tell them what you are doing next in the process of getting your doors open or operations going.
6. Initial Response — What resources do we have that are available to us that we own or control? You must know this early in order to go to the next step. Be thorough with this first response. It will save you time and money in the short run and in the long run. If you have a generator that can run your building at another location, they you don’t have to search for one. If you need 10 but only have two that belong to you, then you know how many you will need. Move quickly – the sooner you get this done the quicker you can get to the next step.
7. Full Response – Move resources, gather resources that you will need in the next step which is the intial recovery of your buisiness processes. Getting people, equipment and supplies to the right place so they can begin to function is no small task especially if communication routes are hindered or even down. This is very important. I have seen so many companies have trouble because they get the facility but no people or equiupment to function or worse they get the facility and the people but no phones, computers and the software to function properly. The employees sit and there isn’t much to do but complain how screwed up this effort is. “Why did they call us away from our homes and families if they weren’t ready for us?” They are right, why did you call them to come in? They have their own problems to solve at home. You would be better off finding out their availability first and then as soon as you have the next step done, then call them. They will be glad that you were organized and didn’t call until everything was in place and they can start to work.
8. Initial Recovery — Once you have the facility or facilities operational then you get the employees there and you can open for business even if it is only on a partial or temporary basis. Customers try to understand but they understand a bunch more when you can do or sell some things even if you can’t do them all. You can still keep them engaged with you and you can get some cash flow as you work to get more products or services available to them. An example that I can give you is a particular pizza company had damage to their site from a hurricane and knew it would be weeks before they could ever open properly – they had no power either. So, they secured a portable pizza cooker from out of the area and they began to cook pizzas for those still in the zone and for workers in the same zone. They became a success story because they were proactive at this step. It was amazing how many pizzas they could cook. “Get your doors open as soon as possible” must be your mantra. Have a sense of urgency about it – make the decisions early to move in a direction to keep your business viable and operational even if it is only a bandaide type of effort.
9. Recover — Open your doors and service the customers no matter how hard it is to do so. So you brought in a generator(s) for power to open, it will sound expensive but you will have sales, please the customer and that relates into market share. It is hard to explain, but customers appreciate those businesses who go out of their way to open and serve them – they think it was just for them and they think that it is a miracle that you did it. Sure some will expect it, but most are very appreciative and they will remember how you were there during their hour of need – when they needed you the most!
10. Transition back to Normal — This is a key step in your plan because it must also be done in an organized manner. You don’t move resouces or give them back before you should. Be sure of your decision on this before you try to go back to your normal operational mode. You must see that people might have changed some buying habits or they want more of one of your services or more than another following the disaster. It happens a lot that businesses don’t read the tea leaves so to speak and they become irrelavant for a period of time following a disaster. Sales drop and you can’t put your finger on it because you weren’t watching. Imagine a home cleaning business that was doing well before a disaster but you were only able to start around the fringes of the disaster because the homes in the zone have other problems. So, as the disaster zone homes get contractors etc. for the work the contractors get crews to fix and then clean up including the final stages of the clean up with is your business. You didn’t link up with any of them and now you are locked out of the work. Hmm, you should have been watching the trending.

Your business preparedness plan will have the basics if you put some structure to the above steps. Who do you escalate to? What is their contact information? Who do you call in the notification step and what is their contact information – all of the options which include cell and texting as well as home numbers. Who will do the damage assessment and what are they looking for if they are not trained in it? When will they report back? How severe is the damage after you get the reports back? What metric do you have to determine if it is Severe, Moderate or Minor in actualilty? You must relate the cold hard facts to the decision makers. You must paint a simple quick picture in their minds eye and then you can get them to respond to it. Give recommendations on what you will do in the next step – how you will do it and when they can expect an update or a status report. Then keep the status reports flowing to all the key people invovled. Measure your success by what is accomplished not by the effort provided. You will get through these steps quickly on minor disasters but for the bad ones, you will be looking a a day or two to get your arms around it depending on how big you are and how many locations you have in the disaster.
Now, go out and do some planning to be better prepared!

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Self Reliance Principles

Oct 15
Posted by admin in Business Continuity Planning, Hurricane Preparedness, Personal Preparedness, Scenario Planning

If you are unwilling to take the time, to prepare when you have ample opportunity or to spend small amounts of money on being prepared, how can you expect others to do it and why would you expect others to pick up the pieces for you?
This is a question that everyone should address before they casually walk through life putting themselves and their families at risk.
Self Relianace is the first and most foundational element of personal preparedness and in the end, accountability. When you fail to take preparedness seriously and because of that fact, you and your familiy suffer much more than necessary who is accountable? Would you blame all of it on the government?
Assumptions that people make:

    The Government will always be there to help me
    My neighbors will always be there to help me
    My relatives will always be there to help me
    My Church will always be there for me
    My friends will always be there for me

If you rely upon the above as your solution to it all, you might find yourself without the assistance you expect. Depending upon the type and severity of the disaster, most of the people involved in your sphere of assumptions may be suffering the same problems that your are and may not be able to get to you. What if they are counting on you? They were too busy to prepare as well – now what?
Self Reliance Principles start first with your attitude; about who is responsible for your actions, your work, your views about life and what you should do with it. If you are attached to others more than you are to yourself and your family then you might just be “others” reliant. Those who look outward for their every need fail to see what they can do for themselves with some concerted effort. If you want others to support you, to send you money and to take you from cradle to grave you are probably not going to read any further. But, if you are concerned about accomplishments, in furthering your capabilities and in providing for yourself and your family – then others go ahead and read on.
How prepared are you for the following:

    Home Fire
    Water in the house
    Severe Illness
    Car Accident
    Loss of your job
    Divorce
    Bad Weather
    Business Failure
    Loss of Income
    Termites
    Biological Hazards
    Chemical Spills
    Tornados

The Individual
For you as an individual, even though the scope is small, you feel like you have had a disaster or an emergency if any of the above happen to you even if not to too many others.
Common threads always appear in each type of disaster. There are those who are better prepared than others. The difference can often be seen as staggeringly different. Life Safety is not something anyone should take lightly but many do. The images of Katrina will be on our minds for a very long time. Helpless people stuck on the roof tops of their homes – a sports center full of people who had no where to go. No one likes to suffer more than need be and we don’t like to see others suffer in such situations. But, those who take ownership of their own preparedness can feel some comfort in knowing that they have done the best they can to be ready for anything. I have noticed the difference in their attitudes following a disaster: the “we will get through this and I can make it happen” versus the ones that say: “where is the government, woe is me, they are going to pay for their shoddy response to my needs!”
Self Reliance principles dictate that we must assume that there will be no one there to assist us in the first hours or days of a disaster.
Self Reliance, in the case of a small home type emergency or disaster, is built on the mantra that we must take ownershiop of most of the steps to response, to fix and to recover from that emergency or disaster rather than rely 100% on our list of people/agencies that we expect to be “johnny on the spot.” If you lose your job you must find another. Others may try to help in the process but it is up to you to do all you can to get another job. It may take time and effort and a very positive attitude, but it is so much better than the person who locks themselves in their house and claims that there are no jobs out there for them when in reality they aren’t really sure – they just assume it.
Many people in the U.S. have turned into “takers” — that is, they will not spend the time and money on personal preparedness in lieu of the fact that “someone” will give it to them.
The disadvantaged people have a good reason for not being as prepared. For reasons beyond their control, they have to rely upon others. That means that someone must include them in “their” preparedness plans. If you have an elderly parent or grandparents – you must ensure that they are taken care of – that they are prepared and you are prepared to help them.
Methodical Preparedness — when a person goes to a store why can’t they buy a few cans of food every trip for a food supply? Why can’t you increase your first aide kit or 72 hour kit one piece at a time? You see, the excuses for not being prepared can’t hold water. Anyone can afford, over time, to have all that is required to be self reliant. But, if you don’t take ownership you will be caught eventually without the items you need. Then, instead of being accountable for it, you try to blame your problems on someone else.Remember, a self reliant person/family is one that does not fear a potential disaster. They tackle it when it arrives. They evacuate if they know their home is in danger. They know where to go and they have the provisions to take care of themselves. They know who to call and can take care of the variables that come their way.

    Wisdom is the wise use of Knowledge.
    Knowledge is the understanding of facts and truth.
    Truth is a widely accpeted fact.
    A fact is an indisputable truth.

Examples:

    Fact = the Federal Government has stepped up its campain to get people to take ownership for being prepared for disasters.
    Fact = Churches and Non-Profits have been putting on “Personal Preparedness Fairs” accross the country.
    Fact = Large portions of people in the U.S. are unprepared for a disaster.
    Fact = Personal Preparedness does not always cost a lot of money upfront – many steps cost nothing.
    Fact = Large portions of the U.S. do not have a 72 hour kit.
    Fact = Those who are prepared recover better – on average
    Fact = Companies around the U.S. are more interested in being prepared than ever before.
    Wisdom = You should start now to build your personal family preparedness plan.
    Wisdom= Attitude is the first step towards being prepared.
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Risks, Threats and Prevention – what you need to know.

Sep 20
Posted by admin in Hurricane Preparedness, Personal Preparedness, Scenario Planning

Day to Day Risks

Bad things can happen to us. Often, it is without warning. You accept risk just by driving you car or going outside at night. We all understand them to some degree and are shocked when something bad happens to us or a friend/neighbor. How much control do you have over someone who is texting while driving and runs a red light? It depends on where you are, if you are just starting out or zipping along while the light is still green. Defensive driving has been proven to help in many circumstances and it is a way of protecting yourself. I never jump out on a green light anymore after being hit back in the 1990′s. My view was blinded by a big van on my left. He saw it and reacted in time but it was too late for me. Now, I just take a little more time.
You can find out what types of risks you are subject to for your area. Check with your local Emergency Management for your city and or county/parish. Crime, natural disasters, old infrastructure (gas lines in San Bruno), roadways, etc. In this article I am going to concentrate on natural disasters but the risks, threats and prevention principles work in anything you want to study or analyze.

Risks and Natural Disasters

A Risk is the potential for something bad to happen to you or your property. There is a rating for each area that people live in and it deals with the potential and likelihood of a disaster affecting you/your property. If by chance you are in a Flood Zone, as rated by the FEMA Flood Mapping, you are at risk. Of course, you might say that the map says that you are in a 100 year flood plane but that doesn’t mean that they only happen every 100 years. They generally happen much more often. The closer you are to a stream or river the potential rises – however, you might be high above the river so the likelihood of it getting to you is low unless a swollen river eats away the ground under your home. But, lets assume that you are near a river and you are clearly in a flood zone. You have accepted the risk that your home could be hit/flooded by the river. Now, lets bring in what a threat is. Lets say that during the spring run off you hear about a major storm coming in with a lot of rain. Warnings go out for low lying areas (flood zones) and so there is now a threat. A real threat at that. Evacuations may be ordered and you lose control over what will happen to your home. It is a turkey shoot now and your home may or may not survive because it is in a risky zone. Now, lets talk about prevention. The obvious is don’t build next to a river. But in this context we will discuss how you may protect yourselve even though you are in a high risk area. A protective device might be built between you and the river – a concrete retaining wall that is high enough to divert a swollen stream around your home. Most people will use sand bags as that protective device because they don’t have the money for a retaining wall or never worried about it. You now have the general picture of understanding a risk, when a threat appears and what a protective device is for that scenario.

Threats

You know when a hurricane is coming. You know a little about when a tornado is coming and when a river will crest. But what about Earthquakes? How do you determine if there is a threat to your home? Well, it is near impossible since no one can truly predict earthquakes. However, you must factor into your living in an earthquake zone the full measure of risk calculation. Knowing exactly where the fault line is in relationship to your home is important. Understand what the USGS is saying about potential earthquakes. If you are on top of compacted fill – it is an even higher risk due to potential liquifaction of that soil. There may not be a threat that can be verbalized regarding earthquakes but it is there. The same will be true of a terrorist action or an abduction of a child. The threats are out there. Some places are higher targeted areas than others. So, you must assume, to some degree, that the threat of it happening is implied by the area in which you live. If you believe that, you will then be willing to protect yourself which I will discuss later.
People today are dismissing risks and especially threats. When the weather service says that you should evacuate or perhaps they send out a manditory evacuation, many people choose to stay behind which increases their risks for harm to themselves. Never mind the home which is in danger either way, but to determine that you – yes you, will be fine is very similar to rolling the dice at a gambling table. When you keep you kids behind to have fun riding through the storm it starts to sound reckless and thoughtless. I have seen it many times. If you leave a baby in their car seat while you shop with the outside temperature in the high 90′s you are reckless and you have put your baby at risk of death and you will find yourself in a long term stay in the pen. In this case there is again only an implied threat from the heat to the baby in the car but it is every bit as real as a tornado on its way. But, for a lot of people, unless someone spells out the threat to them in terms they can understand, they will go along their merry way and not pay any attention to it. Storm warnings, dangerous road conditions, a heat wave etc., it happens all the time so why worry? There is always a threat to power when a storm comes to town. There is always a threat that you can lose control of your car in bad road conditions and there is a potenial of loss of power and brown outs from heat waves not to mention heat stroke and other related problems.
Threats are sometimes obvious and quite often not even known at the time of the disaster or incident. But, my goal here is to have you realize that they are there. They are implied, which doesn’t discount them at all, but rather makes the risk all the more dangerous. It is one thing to have time to get out of your home before something bad happens and it is another to be trapped in your home without warning. You must be ready for both. That is why they still teach duck and cover in schools.

Protection

A protective device or method/process is one that actually stops or slows down the effects of a disaster. If you can minimize the effect you may save your life and those of your family. A protective device or method doesn’t have to be 100% effective to have value. But, it does have to help and very often it then becomes a life saver. Why else would we have smoke alarms in our homes? It is to warn us and to help us get out before we are overcome with smoke and heat. There are protective devices, methods and processes for every type of disaster. They are available for you when you go out at night (reflectors, pepper spray, roads to avoid etc.). They are there for you when you hike, when you skii and when you drive down the road. Your car has protective devices on it and they have proven over time to be very good for your health.
Protection can cost money. You can have a mitigative device created and built for your home for tornados, earthquakes, fires, floods, mudslides, storms etc. They have the devices if you have the money. But, the general public does not have the money it takes to spend on more elaborate mitigation. I was involved in a situation years ago where a home owner was told that he could no longer inhabit his home after La Nina storms washed away some of the cliff area under his home. He lost a good portion of his back yard. He fought furiously to keep the home. So the Building Department had him find a solution – I am sure they knew there weren’t any. But, the man came up with one that would cost more than a million dollars that would essentially drill down over a hundred feet to bedrock and would support the home and keep it from danger. Well, after a few years it proved its worth but in so doing made the solution an example of stupidity. That is, another storm came and washed away all of the dirt under the home and driveway leading up to the home. There was the home standing on stilts as it were and no ability to get to it! My point in bringing this up is to remind you that it is better to get away from a super high risk zone than it is to spend tons of money on it thinking you have fooled mother nature. You can’t fool her, she will prove you wrong. So, a protective device is only as good as the scenario it was built for. Any increased risk and variation to it can be catestropic just the same. Sometimes, it doesn’t work at all.

Being Complacent

So, you have studied and you have discovered your risks. You understand that threats are there or may come to you just before a disaster. You have a plan for getting out of your home and a different plan to stay in your home if need be. You have spent some money on protective devices but have mostly worked on a process and plans. You are ready – or so you think. Of course, that is another subject but for right now lets assume that you are. Then, months and years go bye and you have done little with your plan and devices. You start to believe that since nothing has happened then nothing will happen. Not true, not true at all. History does not always predict the future. You have lived near a river all of your life. So, to you, it can’t happen. When it does, you are completely shocked and caught completely of gaurd! It is unbelieveable and you finally realize that you should have listened to the experts that said you have a high risk there of flooding and to take precautions.
Several years ago a teenager was abducted behind a car wash in Florida. It was caught on tape and the girl lost her life. She was walking to school. Most likely her parents had warned her for years to be careful and to watch for suspicious people and behaviors. But, because she had walked past there for many many years – hundreds of times – she was probably convinced that the warnings were not credible. She appeared to have been completely caught off gaurd by the man who walked right up to her and grabbed her. This is an extreme case of being complacent. But to some degree we all are. We don’t walk around looking around every corner or in every crack. But, there are times when/where the risk is higher and we must pay attention to them. If the police say that it is unsafe to go out after a certain hour, they are assessing the situation upon a risk and a credible threat that exists out there. As a jogger, you shouldn’t go jogging after dark in an area you are unfamiliar with. Even if you are, why do it alone? Do you not believe that there is a threat to your life there? What have you done to protect yourself? Or have you been complacent with the concept that bad things happen and they could happen to you? Why do we consistently believe that bad things only happen to other people and that somehow we are above that sort of thing? I suppose it has something to do with our pysche and our belief that we just might be superhuman. We see better than the rest, we hear better than the rest and our intellect is better than those who have died or been injured. Statistically that thinking is on shaky ground.
If you put yourself into a high risk situation you better be prepared for it. It amazes me, in a day and age with all of the modern devices that we have, that someone could go out hiking alone or climibing Mount Hood or some other risky behavior and not take a rescue beacon or a satillite phone. The reason — pure belief that they are not vulnerable. It won’t be a problem for them. So, they take off and . . .

Vulnerability

Just a few words in closing about vulnerability. First you measure Risk. You understand what a credible or implied threat is. You calculate the likelihood of it happening to you and then you must determine how vulnerable you are to it if it does happen. If you are vulnerable, do something about it. The section on protection is not meant to give you all of the devices and methods but to cause you to understand that something must be done to minimize or to stop a natural disaster or something that is bad from happening. Be a genuine believer in protection and in being prepared. Someday you will be glad that you did and your family will appreciate you consistent effort to do so and to teach them to be that way as well.
There is a thread between those who always seem to be in car accidents while others are not. There is a thread between those who suffer the worst following a disaster versus those in the same area who don’t suffer as much. Will a safe box under your home help when an tornado comes? Will a sturdy built hurricane home help? Will evacuating according to your plan help? Will creating a defensible space near your home help wihen a wild fire comes near? Will proven precautions work for you when you decide to venture out at night?
I think you can answer as I do, that they will. Please spend some time understanding your risks for your area. Understand threats and implied threats and see what protective devices, methods and processes you can implement that will help you be safer than you are now.
A prepared person is a calm person at the time of a disaster!

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Home Owners Insurance and Disasters

Aug 16
Posted by admin in Business Continuity Planning, Hurricane Preparedness, Personal Preparedness

General Coverage

Everyone wants their insurance to cover anything that might happen to their home, whether it be an accident or mother nature. They want a fully functioning home after all is said and done. However, you might be surprised to know that you may not have the coverage you are hoping for.

First and foremost, insurance companies sell you coverage based upon national statistics that they monitor annually to set their rates and what coverages they will offer in different localities.
Generally, anything that happens in or around your house that is a part and parcel of you home, you will be covered for, minus your deductible. That means, that if your pipe breaks amd floods some of your home, or the wiring or stove top causes a fire, they are covered. Additional buildings on the property such as sheds, barns and shops that are not a part of the main home maybe or maybe not be covered in your policy for anything. You have to check. Be sure they are valued and included in your policy unless old and have little monitary value.

If the damage to your home traveled to get there, then you may not be covered at all. “Acts of God” are generally excluded unless you specifically ask for it or it is required by your mortgage company or your state. Flooding by the nearby creek or river, brush fires, earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes are not automatically covered. You must ask for and get them included if your are at risk by them. Often this process is called “attaching a rider” because it rides on the back of your main policy and enhances your coverages.

If you are in a flood zone, chances are your bank/mortgage company has required that you carry flood insurance by FEMA. This is because, over the years, the Federal Government kept seeing the same homes and businesses damaged and in order to stop assistance year after year the FEMA Flood Insurance Program was instigated. Thus, in theory, the insurance covers the flood damages minus the deductible. This is a good thing. However, for some folks, it is very expensive coverage.

I have seen homes built in dry creek beds, right on the river banks and just below dams. One might ask, why do they do it when the risk seems high. Tell that to the homeowner who loves being next to the river. They are willing to take the risk. But, I have seen mother nature tear up these homes over the years. The homeowner then gets mad at the permitting agency for giving them a permit, which by the way, they often have threatened the agency with their lawyers to get. It sounds crazy, and it is.

Anyway, you must look at your insurance policy and you must discuss details of it with your insurance company for what you want for coverage. Why? Because if all insurance policies covered all hazards we would not want to buy it due to the high cost. Besides, big disasters are big hits on insurance companies as they pay out their policy’s coverages. Some insurance companies have gone out of existence or stopped offering certain types of coverages.

In the State of Florida, they passed a law after 2004′s hurricanes that all homeowners with a mortgage must carry hurricane insurance and that any insurance company selling insurance in Florida must offer it in order to stop the picking and choosing of homeowners and insurance companies to carry coverage. This has kept the insurance premiums lower because it also spreads out the premiums collected by each insurance company over a broad area. The thought being, that “even if an area/region were hit the entire state would not be hit at the same time”. Thus, the collected premiums help defray the costs for the insurance company. Multiple hurricanes can affect insurance companies.

Time for Truth, What You Should Know

Your home is destroyed or severely damaged. You want it repaired and or replaced immediately. Let the laughter begin! Large disasters cause large problems for everyone including insurance agents. In large disasters many Insurance Companies generally hire “out of area agents” to help with the on-site adujustment process of your home and hundreds of others. You might have a good experience where you get a settlement you want based upon the policy. You can’t expect them to pay out more than what you agreed to. But if you feel they are not paying what your policy says, you may have to callenge them on it.

You should always, if in your policy, secure money for alternate living expenses (ALE). Check on this with your agent. If you are displaced due to a covered event, your lodging will be paid for by your insurance company. There are some people that can’t get anything out of their insurance company in a reasonable time frame. The truth is, that it might take months and for a few, years to recover from a disaster. They arn’t always there with check in hand with a full settlement in a few weeks. Sometimes you must go to FEMA and SBA for funds needed because you have a shortfall. Another problem is, in some cases, that your policy deductible is 10-15% of the value of your home. On a $300,000 home that is $30,000-$45,000! Most people can’t come up with that money on their own. If you have a depreciated amount and or a high deductible, you will have a shortfall. SBA loans money to home owners for shortfalls. It may be your only option.

Even if you could get the money fast, how many contractors do you think could bid and start on your home in the next few months? Let more laughter begin! They can’t do that very easily in a non-disaster mode. The contractors will be overwhelmed in just a few weeks with people wanting them to repair or rebuild their home. I have talked to them and they say they get 10-20 requests for bids a day! Be aware too, that there are “out of area” and “out of state” contractors who decend upon the disaster zone who can be scam artists. Use licensed contractors from your state and area. Also, the building departments are overwhelmed – architects, wood suppliers, concrete suppliers are overwhelmed. You must see the big picture in order to understand the limitations of the process. However, that does not mean by any means that you should not get to your insurance company early and push your insurance company every week until you get the results you believe you deserve under your written policy. You must be very proactive with your insurance company and any contractor who you sign a contract with. Do not sit back and wait on them.

More truth about getting your adjustment and settlement.

When the Insurance Company finalizes their ” policy adjustment“, they come back to you with a “settlement” which I call a “first offer”, which may not be the best offer you can get. They will make it sound as though it is the only offer you will ever get from them. You may have to get an independent adjuster to provide a report to prove them wrong. Remember, they follow guidelines, they move quickly in a disaster and mistakes can be made. In some cases, lawyers are brought in. Pray that you don’t have to do that.

You must know that most basic policies have a depreciation factor built in. For example purposes: If you have had your home for 10 years and paid insurance all that time, your adjustment might include 10 years of depreciation or usage loss to your home. An example would be then, that a $200,000 policy might only yield about $165,000 to you following a disaster due to depreciation. This is not a good thing to have in your policy as you can see. You have paid all these years to have $200,000 there following a disaster and your payments over the years have not ensured you as much as you thought. Check on Depreciated Value in your policy when it comes to a total loss. You want a policy that pays for Full Replacement at Today’s Contruction Costs. It may cost you more, but well worth it. Although homes may increase in Fair Market Value, your policy may have a depreciated value following a disaster.

So, you must put into your homeowners policy full replacement value at today’s construction costs or more accurately at the time of the disaster. Thus, when you have a loss, you will get $200,000 as a settlement or due to an increase in buildings costs an additional amount according to your policy. Also, be aware that sometimes policies will max out which is called a “policy limit”. Example: You might have a $200,000 coverage but you also have a large personal property loss and you haven’t increased your coverage over the years. So with a $100,000 personal property loss and a home that costs $250,000 with a maximum pay out of $300,000 – you are suddenly short $50,000! This is just a math example, but you must check with your agent on this concept. Find out what your policy limits are for everything. Make adjustments as needed.

Personal Property is one of the largest things disputed in a policy following a major disaster. The insurance company knows by national statistics what is in a normal home of your size and value. Sometimes you have to prove anything over the national averages. Say you have 6 Flat Screen TV’s in your home and the national average is 4. You will have to show proof of ownership in some cases. This can be done by simply taking photos of your home once a year and storing them off-site. There can’t be much debate when you have photos of each room’s contents.
I have seen people with 1,400 square foot homes claim enough personal property to fill a mansion. So, in defense of insurance companies, it makes sense to put the onus onto the homeowner to a large degree.

The foot print of your home should be in your county records - unless you added something without a permit, and then you might find yourself not getting anything for it after a disaster. “Redneck” additions where the work is done poorly and undocumented are problematic. You can’t blame city hall or your insurance agent when you purposely didn’t involve them before the disaster. So, you filled in your garage and made it living space and did it yourself without a permit. You enjoy it but following a disaster it is covered only as a garage. Sorry, you rolled the dice on this and that is what happens.

Recommended Steps you Should Take

  • Read and Understand your current Home Owner’s Policy coverages
  • Have your Agent explain them to you before you go on the offensive with them
  • Request changes to your policy and to your coverages – get rid of depreciation
  • Increase your coverages every couple of years – FMV increases, so should your coverage
  • Ensure coverage for the risks you might have in your region
  • Adjust your deductible to help keep the premiums low – catestrophic loss must be covered
  • Go with a large reputable insurance company – trust me, it will save you in the end

    • Feel the Safety that a good Home Owner’s Policy will bring you!

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    Mandatory Evacuations: Steps for being Successful

    Aug 06
    Posted by admin in Hurricane Preparedness, Personal Preparedness

    Time to Go - Now!

    Since this is Hurricane Season, I thought I would discuss Evacuations since it is a hot issue for most people.

    Your Emergency Managers are required to provide you with just in time warnings regarding tornados , but in the case of Hurricanes, they get to watch them develop and move toward land. With that said, they have specific guidelines that they follow before issuing an evacuation notice. Too soon and the people will not go – too late and people can die or get hurt. They will make the right decision.

    What I want to do is to give you some basic steps to follow in complying with an Evacuation Notification that you receive. But, remember a Mandidtory Evacuation is for your own safety - “riding the storm” like a thrill seeker” is putting your life and others in danger. When you get yourself in a dangerous pickle by staying in your home, you will want to call 9/11 for help and it probably will not be there for you. Many would call you a stubburn idiot. It is Better to Be Safe, than Sorry!

    You should consider leaving under a “Voluntary Evacuation Notice” if:

      1. You are elderly or have health problems
      2. You are in a mobile or manufactured home
      3. Your home is old and in bad condition
      4. You are pregnant or have a new born baby

    Mandatory Evacuation Steps

      1. Where will you evacuate to?

      • Determine before hand where you will go – the location – have a back up
      • Ensure that it is out of the path of the hurricane – completely
      • Ensure that you have gas in your vehicle to get there
      • A local hotel is not a proper evacuation
      • A friend across town is not a proper evacuation

      2. Route - choose a commonly used route

      • If jammed use an alternate route – that you planned for as a back up
      • Keep Maps in your car – mark the routes before hand

      3. Shelters – good and bad

      • If you can’t go far, go to a shelter
      • Shelters fill up fast
      • Shelters are short term
      • Long term stays are for those with physical/medical problems
      • Shelters should be a last resort option
      • Listen to the radio to get locations

      4. Car Contents

      • “Go Kit” or “72 Hour Kit”
      • You may find yourself sitting on a blocked road
      • Full tank of gas – don’t sit and run the car all of the time
      • Blankets, Pillows
      • Car Emergency Kit – tools, booster cables
      • Games for kids

      5. Panic - don’t – stay calm – think clearly – time is on your side

      6. Strangers – be careful with them

      • Do not pick up strangers along the way
      • Take only friends and family if you need to

      7. At your Destinated Evacuation Location

      • Monitor the disaster on Radio and TV
      • Monitor Power and City Services
      • Do not return too soon
      • Try to contact someone in the disaster zone
      • Monitor Work numbers via internet etc.
      • Return only when safe to do so
      • Following an Emergency Management notifiction

      8. Returning to Home

      • Do Not Expect to get Back In – due to damage (Red Tag)
      • Assess Damage to your Home
      • Is it habitable – safe/secure?
      • If not, you may have to:
        1) Go to a family or friends home
        2) Camp in tent on property or a park
        3) Return to out of area location

      • If No Power or Water
        1) Use Small Generator you purchased before hand
        2) Cook on Propane Grill or Camp Stove
        3) Ration your water to drinking only

      • Water Intrusion – be aware
        1) Mold and Mildew begin to grow immediately
        2) Airborne Particals are very dangerous
        3) Use a 1 to 5 Bleach to water solution
        4) Spray solution on wet areas daily
        5) Remove Carpet if it does not dry out quickly

      • Venturing Out
        1) Only if you have to for essentials
        2) Do not waste Gas – it is hard to come by
        3) Remember, No Lights = 4 Way Stop

      9. Communicate

      • Cell coverage is 75% blocked for First Responders
      • When you can – call ONE Person out of Area
      • Have them contact everyone
      • List who you need to hear from

      10. Neighborhood

      • Pool resources if you can
      • Provide baby sitting and comfort to them

      11. Children

      • Tell them the Truth about your situation
      • Keep them Busy – variety of things

      12. Outside Assistance

      • Red Cross – provides food, water, bedding,
        clothing and vouchers – Listen for “assistance
        areas” – “comfort areas” on the radio

      • FEMA – provides emergency grant money
        1) Register Immediately – don’t put off
        2) Grants are usually under $5-6 thousand

      • Small Business Admin does low interest loans
        1) Those who have no insurance
        2) Those who are under insured

      • Churches provide key help regardless if you are a member or not

    I have listed some of the key things you should be aware of. Think about this information in a serious way. If you are like most, you will not do anything about this until it is too late. So be different!

    In my travels to disaster zones it is always amazing to me that the very people that should be prepared and should have the necessary items, even in high disaster zones, are not ready. I see them the day after at grocery stores wanting in, in long lines at the gas stations (what few are open) and generally out and about in a state of panic because they assumed that the “Hurricane will miss us,” or “We will be fine, what are you so worried about?”

    Don’t be like the general population. Be Prepared – you will rest easy – you will react with confidence and your family will love you for being on top of such a serious time in their life!

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    Are Disasters Happening More Frequently?

    Jul 29
    Posted by admin in Business Continuity Planning, Personal Preparedness

    Man Made and Natural Disasters

    The planning concepts are the same, the scenarios are different.
    All you need to do is say, “Gulf Oil Spill” and you will receive a quick opinion from anyone around you. In fact, it has probably become a very hot topic even amongst friends. But, in light of the post question, one has to say that very, very large oil spills are not happening very often, thank goodness. But, the Gulf Spill has gone beyond what we have seen in the past – the unbridled release of oil from the floor of the Gulf. Has other man made disasters been increasing? What about Wars, Cherynoble, A Bombs on Japan?

    The oil spill could have been avoided and should have been avoided. Few man made disasters are unavoidable. We cut corners to save money banking that nothing bad will go wrong but in doing so we increase the likelyhood that something bad will go wrong. Inspections and oversight were weak, procedures were overlooked.

    Many have said the 9/11 could not have been stopped at the time but that really isn’t true. We are so accustomed to relying upon what is, that we don’t think properly about what could be when it comes to stopping man made disasters. What if a large group of Taliban or Al Quida cross the border from Mexico, secure automatic weapons and go into 25 large shopping malls and at the same time open fire on the shoppers? Is it so far fetched that we would dismiss it sumarily? That is what the “thinkers” did prior to 9/11. The scenario seemed just too impossible. “They couldn’t fly a commercial plane if they got one.” “We would stop them at the airport.” “They would not be able to threaten the flight crew as they would have no weapon to do so.” Hmm, that sure didn’t stop the terrorists – they plan for months and months.

    So, what are we to do to be better prepared? For one, we have to stop much of our one dimensional thinking which is defined generally as one solution will correct the problem. If “this” happens, then we do “that” and it will be stopped, thwarted, controlled etc. But, in acuality, that is not a good course to follow. I have seen it in my disaster travels so many times. Katrina is a prime example – the city had a disaster plan, the state had a diaster plan but they were not followed all of the way. A levy break changed the scenario from severe winds to a nasty and devastating flood. Who would have thought? Well, if you were a planner in New Orleans, you know that water is all around you and you have to be prepared for the worst case scenario – which happened. In proper planning, when a Hurricane approaches, you assume that the levy can and will break. So, a total and complete manditory evacuation must be ordered and all home owner, hospitals, rest homes, businesses etc. must evacuate. The buses run for those who cannot evac on their own – it was a part of the plan. The full plan could have and should have been followed for the safety of all involved. Making an assumption that we will be fine because the wind speed will not result in a catestrophic disaster is a false and dangerous assumption. Emergency Managers have guidelines to follow in determining the time and type of an evacuation. All members of the evacuation and response team must follow the plan which also allows them to get their own families evacuated.

    Multidimensional thinking is one that causes you to drop quick assumptions about the success of any one solution that is brought forward. Each solution has to be delved into – what if it doesn’t work? So, what if the hurricane causes the levy to break? What if people cannot evacuate in time? What if they need shelter? What if the government does not respond quickly? Wow, all of these cause one to think and to plan appropriately. You don’t stop at the first one and say, “the hurricane will not cause a levy to break.” “We don’t have to worry about that.” Never assume that one solution fits all disasters or situations. Think harder, look at all problems as they “might” develop in a disaster whether man made or natural. What if a shooter enters the college or school near you and opens fire on the students and teachers? This scenario has happened many times with devastating effects. Much of the planning community focuses on finding the shooter before he can step foot on the property. That is only one solution. What if you can’t find this person before hand and they do show up at school? In that case, a detailed operable (worth its salt) plan must be in place to be prepared for that scenario. Otherwise, more than a few deaths will occur needlessly. I am not saying that we can stop every shooter, but they expect to find little or no resistence when they approach the school from security, staff or students. They most likely go to school there or have been there and know the schools capabilities. We have to be smarter, faster and more capable. There are some deterants out there that help mitigate against a random shooting scenario. There are facility solutions, training and awareness solutions. There are protective devices and alert notifications that can be used. The idea is to investigate and implement the various solutions based upon a multidimentional approach.

    Most people do not think they will get into an automobile accident on their way home from work or while shopping. They don’t think texting will cause an accident – “I can do both – unlike others.” Well, what if you can’t? We accept risk and it makes us somewhat passive about everything we do that “might” cause us harm. When it comes to large disasters, well “it will never happen here” or “it will never happen to me.” Hmm, statistics don’t lie and they weren’t built because of people who denied that risks exist.

    Think of this more personal example: Several years ago a young teenager was abducted just outside a car wash in Florida as she walked past it on her way home. The man,who grabbed the girl, was caught on a surveilance tape. She was surprised by his approach and unable to resist him. She lost her life. I am sure that her parents over the years had told her to be aware of her surroundings and of strangers. They probably told her to never walk home alone. But, after countless trips home without an incident, she slowly but surely dropped her gaurd. Why did she do it? Because one becomes to believe that since nothing has happened over a period of time, nothing will happen. We try to predict the future based solely on the past. That is not a secure assumption. Sure, it plays a part of any risk based review. But, mother nature does what she wants and wing nuts do what they want.

    Our planning is often based upon shaky assumptions. The government does not know all and do all. It has been shown that they couldn’t stop the Christmas Day pants bomber at the airport. They couldn’t stop the Times Square bomber. We were lucky that their bombs failed. The terrorists won’t make those mistakes again.

    So, please go over your plans – ensure that you have discussed and have solutions for all of the variables and what if scenarios that may happen. Never stop thinking hard and never stop at one solution to a potential disaster scenario. Complete the do-diligence required. Train others to plan properly in your organization. The plan does not have to be big but it needs to deal with weaknesses in it now, not at the time of the disater.
    Example: No power, no cell phones – no normal communication paths – what will you do to solve that? Satellite phones are a solution but did you know that they have to have one to use it and – and they must know how to use it properly. I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard from people, after training, that they couldn’t get the SAT Phone to work in the disaster. When I talk to them, they tell me things that are so obviously user error that it is funny. “I am in my office and I can’t get it to work – what a piece of junk.” Well, if you went outside and did as instructed it would work. “I had a connection and then it drops!” Well, if you didn’t walk around like you were on your cell phone it would drop – did you read the instructions?

    You have to remind people, you have to keep them aware, and you have to assume that they will not do as you expect. If you understand that, you are way ahead in proper planning. Build that into your plan.

    Are disasters happening more often now? Not hurricanes, not tornados or earthquakes by the numbers. The Haiti earthquake – bad structures and infrastructure and no real disaster plan – a recipe for devastation. Each of us has been exposed to events in the past – the older we are the more experience we have. Disasters have been around but in my view, even with all of the technology we have, we are not as prepared mentally as we used to be and technology itself is a key disaster element. We can’t function without it.

    Man made disaster types have increased partly because of technology. You can sit in a foriegn country and hack into or send a worm/virus to rase havic. The world is smaller and anyone can attack via the internet.
    Wars and other man made disasters in the past were worse when you figure in loss of life and whole countries being devistated by bombs and fighting. Study history – whole civilizations were destroyed by another – We have had the Civil War, World War I and II – and think of the purging in Russia, Cambodia and more recently in the former Yugoslavia. Africa has had horrific tribal and political unrest. Perspective is very important.
    Natural disasters, when you look at the statistics over the years they have not increased per se. They are cyclical and sometimes we, without historical perspective, think they have but theay are not more in frequency over all. One can make a case for 2004 and 2005 being abnormally packed with hurricanes, but it has happened like that in the past. So, I don’t believe there are more or even more frequent.

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    Are Businesses really prepared?

    Jul 28
    Posted by admin in Business Continuity Planning


    We often think that the big boys have all of the answers because they have a lot of money and full time employees devoted to getting a company prepared. Although some of that is true, there is a difference in just putting things on paper to satisfy auditors and management and actually thinking critically about it. Developing a strategy with key tatical procedures that actually work is more important than all of the ink money can buy.

    I just talked with a couple of large consulting companies wanting me to use them to put together a BCP plan for my company. The first one put on a SME (subject matter expert) who took the next 45 minutes to explain how they help companies build a proper business continuity plan. It was boring to say the least. It was filled with all of the basic elements of BCP, i.e., conduct a BIA, build strategies, do a risk assessment, get management on board, and get everyone everywhere to buy into your plan. I was summarily disappointed in the fact that not once did he try to find out what I had already accomplished as a BCP Planner. Does he really think we sit on our hands and hope for someone to come along and tell us what to do?

    Are large businesses that far behind that they have to be told what a BCP program is? Unfortunately the answer is yes for about 50% of them. These guys make a living off of talking about the basics and then getting companines to do the basics – for a sizeable fee! Unfortunately, not all planning is the same even at large companies. I have seen the plans of others and they are text book in nature – if they didn’t pay for them, then they took a template off of the internet and filled it out. THIS WILL NOT DO!

    We can’t be that dumb – to think that one type of shoe fits all and will work for all is crazy. Try jogging in you best formal shoes! They are a shoe and you can run in them but not very far. The same is true for a company BCP Plan. If it doesn’t fit, you will fail somewhere when you really can’t afford to. So the moral to the story is that a planner must first learn to think properly in order to plan properly. If you think like a normal person does, you will write a plan that has only one solution to every scenario. When that solution doesn’t work – you fail. The World Trade Tower failure points out that no one planned properly because they didn’t think properly. They stopped at the point where they said to themselves, “this scenario could never happen, we would stop them at the airport.” Yup, that worked really well.

    Small Businesses

    I have worked with thousands of small businesses accross the U.S. and its possession and I can tell you in all honestly that only about 20% of them had any kind of disaster or interruption plan. It didn’t matter too much that they were in a major disaster zone. It didn’t matter that they only had one source for their product. They are like the people that they are at home. The grocery store will always be there for me to buy food at. The gas station will always have gas for me when I need it. My house will always protect me. Hmm, such one dimentional thinking! But we are that way by nature. It takes someone willing to think beyond their immediate needs to their long term needs. Businesses that look down the road, who see all of the risks of doing business are the ones that have a shot at realizing that they need a plan. Even a basic 4 or 5 page plan is better than nothing by far. At least it will outline some key things: who is in charge if the boss isn’t there? How do we contact our employees even if phones are down (including their contact information)? Who can we contact to solve facility problems, equipment problems and technology problems? A smart business wil have listed many backups. Vendors, key documents and other essentials can be quickly listed for a small business.

    The problem is not us, we see the need to be prepared. The problem is that few others see it properly and if they do, they don’ know how to go about it or how to start. A small business owner may tell the secretary to put something together or someone else who knows nothing about it. If they are smart they will go to www.ready.gov or some other site and at least get a template. I know it isn’t the best but it is better than nothing.

    The world of business is not getting easier. The world of government is. I worked for the Federal Government for a lot of years and the amount of paper pushing and beaurocracy red tape is more than you have been told about. There are many who do not have to do much during the day to earn their pay. But, they do have a lot of bodies and they could be talked into doing more during a crisis. But, no business should be relying on the government to be there for them. Statistically it is truly not smart. In some disasters 75% of small businesses are gone by the two year mark after the disaster. In some places it is only 40-50% that are gone. They can’t weather it and can’t carry the reconstruction costs and their business. Often they lose customers because they didn’t get open soon enough and they can’t get them back. Most businesses run very close to the red. Few save for the rainy day.

    So the moral to this story is, we need to help where we can, to spread the word of being prepared of thinking properly about the subject as most throw the thought of a disaster out of their minds before it can lodge there.

    Be the best you can at the job you have been hired to do – then do more. You get more out of people by using patience and solid words than you do with harshness and scare tactics. We in this field have no ability to put vinegar anywhere. However, we don’t sugar coat things either. It is a fine line. Too much sugar, you get no ones attention. Too much Chicken Little and you are a lunatic to be discounted.

    Good luck – the world is depending on you!

    Scott

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    Premium Emergency Kit Recommended Items

    Jul 27
    Posted by admin in Personal Preparedness

    All too often, people find themselves unprepared for disasters or serious events.  Sometimes they don’t have the materials, often they don’t have the knowledge of what to get and even if they do, they procrastinate the purchase of the items that would make a disaster more tolerable. Anyone can put together an extensive kit if they do it on a monthly basis. Put it in a back pack, a small garbage can on wheels. The Key is: It can be grabbed and moved on the run.

    Basic Food Items

    • Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) – simple, complete including their own heating source
    • Power Bars – great items – small but powerful – but they get old fast
    • Dehydrated Dry Packs – soup, drinks etc. – you just need water
    • Hard Tack Candy – everyone needs something sweet – can be sugar free

    Non-Food Items

    • Roll of Duct Tape
    • Garbage Bags – Large and Small
    • Leather Gloves
    • 20’ of rope 3/8” and lashing rope
    • Ground Tarps – 8×10 (2)
    • Lock Back Knife
    • Non Latex Exam Gloves – box
    • Sterile Abdominal Pads – 8”x10”
    • N95 Respirator Masks – Box
    • Thermal Space Blankets – 84”x52” – for each person
    • Drinking Water Pouches 4oz  Case
    • Whistle – emergency – loud
    • Aluminum Flashlight – Solar and or hand charge
    • Glow Sticks
    • Cooking Source – canned heat, propane stove
    • Cooking Pans/Utensils – compact travel type
    • Professional First Aid Kit – 52 piece in durable case
    • Rain Gear – Poncho, Boots, Pants
    • Radio – solar or hand charge
    • Toiletries – portable (5 Gal Plastic with seat)
    • Sanitary conversion formula
    • Hand Sanitizer
    • Toothbrush and Toothpaste
    • Kleenex
    • Toilet Paper
    • Cloths soap – 5 Gal Bucket
    • Towels
    • Army Shovel
    • Compass
    • Folding Saw
    • Water Proof Matches
    • Small Tent
    • 2 Pair of Clothing for each person
    • Safety Goggles
    • Magnesium Fire Starter Kit (tinder pack)
    • Lantern
    • Bug Spray – Liquid
    • Signaling Mirror
    • Dunk Bag/Duffle
    • Memo Pad and Pencil
    • Two Step Water Treatment Purifier
    • Utility Tool
    • GPS Tracker – Rescue
    • Siphon Pump
    • Gas Can
    • Tie Down Straps
    • Hammer
    • Wire Cutters
    • Disposable Camera
    • Baby Wipes
    • Eye Wash
    • Prescription Drugs and supply of over the counter
    • CPR Mask
    • CASH – at least $2-300 in smaller denominations
    • Gas/Water Shut Off Tool
    • Can Opener
    • Candles

    *** All Kits must be assembled, put in a transport container such as a backpack or 5 Gal Plastic Bucket, and placed where it can be easily grabbed and carried away.  If you shelter at home, you still have it.

    Disaster Preparedness NOTE:  Millions of People have been evacuated at a single time away from their homes or in some disasters they are stuck in their home or a nearby shelter following a large event.  I have been there for the last 25 years helping victims – they are unprepared by far – most without anything.  We spend so much money on semi-useful items and little on what would be life saving items that it is almost a crime.  Billions of dollar loss can happen on large events – most people do not have the right insurance coverage for “Acts of God” – Earthquakes, Tornados, Hurricanes, Floods etc.
    The Reason – normal home owner’s policies exclude them as a rule – a pipe may bust and flood your house – you are covered, but if the creek overflows you are not.  You must put a rider and coverage in your policy for a type of extended risk for your area – Earthquake, Flood, High Winds, Tornado, Tree falling on house etc.

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