HELPING YOUR EMPLOYEES PREPARE FOR NATURAL DISASTERS
Floods, Earthquakes, Hurricanes & Tornadoes

Courtesy of FEMA

Your employees are your most valuable assets. Helping them to protect their families and property will be your most important step in post-disaster recovery.

DEVELOP A FAMILY PLAN
The first step is to develop a plan based upon natural disasters that are likely in your region of the country. The plan should include the following:

1. Keep supplies on hand.
2. Have a communications plan.
3. Teach family members how to respond.

PREPARING FOR FLOODS
Some important information to know:

1. Flood waters can be extremely dangerous. The force of six inches of swiftly moving water can knock people off their feet. The best protection during a flood is to leave the area and go to shelter on higher ground.

2. Flash flood waters move at very fast speeds and can roll boulders, tear out trees, destroy buildings, and obliterate bridges. Walls of water can reach heights of 10 to 20 feet and generally are accompanied by a deadly cargo of debris. The best response to any signs of flash flooding is to move immediately and quickly to higher ground.

3. Cars can easily be swept away in just 2 feet of moving water. If flood waters rise around a car, it should be abandoned. Passengers should climb to higher ground.

ASK QUESTIONS!
Find out if you live in a flood-prone area from your local emergency management office or local Red Cross chapter. Ask whether your property is above or below the flood stage water level and learn about the history of flooding for your region. Learn flood-warning signs and your community-alert signals. Request information on preparing for floods and flash floods. If you live in a frequently flooded area, stockpile emergency building materials. These include plywood, plastic sheeting, lumber nails, hammer and saw, pry bar, shovels, and sandbags. Have check valves installed in building sewer traps to prevent flood waters from backing up in sewer drains. As a last resort, use large corks or stoppers to plug showers, tubs, or basins. Plan and practice an evacuation route.

Contact the local emergency management office or local American Red Cross chapter for a copy of the community flood evacuation plan. This plan should include information on the safest routes to shelters. Individuals living in flash flood areas should have several alternative routes.

Learn about the National Flood Insurance Program. Ask your insurance agent about flood insurance. Homeowners policies do not cover flood damage.

PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY
Mitigation pays. Mitigation includes any activities that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or lessen the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies. Investing in mitigation steps now, such as constructing barriers or levees and purchasing flood insurance, will help reduce the amount of structural damage to your home and financial loss from building and crop damage should a flood or flash flood occur.

Check out the FEMA web site (www.fema.gov/mit). The Mitigation "How To" series contains practical steps you can take to protect your home. Included is information for:

Exterior Walls
Electrical System
Fuel Tanks Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Equipment
Sewer Backflow Valves

See the sidebar with this article and also the article "Helping Your Employees Respond and Recover from Natural Disasters" in the Crisis Response section of this guide.

PREPARING FOR EARTHQUAKES
Some important information to know:

• Earthquakes can occur at any time of the year.
• The best protection during an earthquake is to get under heavy furniture such as a desk, table, or bench.
• The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits, and alongside exterior walls. Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls.
• Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.
• Earthquakes occur most frequently west of the Rocky Mountains, although historically the most violent earthquakes have occurred in the central United States. All 50 states and all U.S. territories are vulnerable to earthquakes. Forty-one states or territories are at moderate to high risk.

PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY
Mitigation pays! Mitigation includes any activities that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or lessen the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies. Investing in preventive mitigation steps now such as repairing deep plaster cracks in ceilings and foundations, anchoring overhead lighting fixtures to the ceiling and following local seismic building standards, will help reduce the impact of earthquakes in the future.

Check out the FEMA web site (www.fema.gov/mit). The Mitigation "How To" series contains practical steps you can take to protect your home. Included is information on:

Anchor Tall Bookcases and File Cabinets
Propane Tanks and Gas Cylinders
Desktop Computers and Appliances
Drawers and Cabinet Doors
Brace Cripple Walls
Bolt Sill Plates to Foundation
Gas and Water Lines
Framed Pictures and Mirrors

See the sidebar with this article and also the article "Helping Your Employees Respond and Recover from Natural Disasters" in the Crisis Response section of this guide.

PREPARING FOR HURRICANES
Some important information to know:

Hurricanes can be dangerous killers. Learning the hurricane warning messages and planning ahead can reduce the chances of injury or major property damage.

• The 74 to 160 miles per hour winds of a hurricane can extend inland for hundreds of miles. Hurricanes can spawn tornadoes, which add to the destructiveness of the storm. Floods and flash floods generated by torrential rains also cause damage and loss of life. Following a hurricane, inland streams and rivers can flood and trigger landslides.

• When a hurricane watch is issued, the best response is to protect your property by boarding up windows, bringing in outside items, and being prepared to evacuate the areas as soon as officials so advise.

• Even more dangerous than the high winds of a hurricane is the storm surge— a dome of ocean water that can be 20 feet at its peak and 50 to 100 miles wide. The surge can devastate coastal communities as it sweeps ashore. Nine out of 10 hurricane fatalities are attributable to the storm surge.

PLAN AN EVACUATION ROUTE
Contact the local emergency management office or American Red Cross chapter, and ask for the community hurricane preparedness plan. This plan should include information on the safest evacuation routes and nearby shelters. Learn safe routes inland. Be ready to drive 20 to 50 miles inland to locate a safe place.

CHECK INTO FLOOD INSURANCE
You can find out about the National Flood Insurance Program through your local insurance agent or emergency management office. There is normally a 30-day waiting period before a new policy becomes effective. Homeowners polices do not cover damage from the flooding that accompanies a hurricane.

PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY
Mitigation pays. Mitigation includes any activities that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or lessen the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies. Invest in preventive mitigation steps now such as strengthening unreinforced masonry to withstand wind and flooding

Install shutters on every window. This will help reduce the impact of hurricanes in the future.

Permanent shutters are the best protection. A lower-cost approach is to put up plywood panels. Use 1/2 inch plywood—marine plywood is best—cut to fit each window. Remember to mark which board fits which window. Pre-drill holes every 18 inches for screws. Do this long before the storm.

Trim back dead or weak branches from trees.

Check out the FEMA web site (www.fema.gov/mit). The Mitigation "How To" series contains practical steps you can take to protect your home. Included is information on:

Protect Your Property From Wind
Garage Doors
Shutters or Plywood Window Covers
Brace Gable End Roof Framing
Double Entry Doors
Trees and Potential Wind-borne Missiles

See the sidebar with this article and also the article "Helping Your Employees Respond and Recover from Natural Disasters" in the Crisis Response section of this guide.

PREPARING FOR TORNADOES
When a tornado is coming, you have only a short amount of time to make life-or-death decisions. Advance planning and quick response are the keys to surviving a tornado.

CONDUCT TORNADO DRILLS EACH TORNADO SEASON
Designate an area in the home as a shelter, and practice going there in response to a tornado threat. Discuss with family members the difference between a "tornado watch" and a "tornado warning." See FEMA’s website for a brochure "Tornado Safety Tips" available in four PDF files.

TORNADO SAFE ROOMS
Consider building a "Safe Room". These home windstorm shelters can provide protection against winds of up to 250 miles per hour and against projectiles traveling at 100 miles per hour. Go to FEMA’s web site (www.fema.gov) for more information on this subject.

PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY
Mitigation pays! Mitigation includes any activities that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or lessen the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies. Investing in preventive mitigation steps now, such as checking local building codes and ordinances about wind-resistant designs and strengthening unreinforced masonry, will help reduce the impact of tornadoes in the future.

See the sidebar with this article and also the article "Helping Your Employees Respond and Recover from Natural Disasters" in the Crisis Response section of this guide.

The above was adapted from FEMAS's website. Go there for much more good information. www.fema.gov