Ready Your Business

1. Ready Your Business www.ready.ga.gov

2. State of the Emergency • Georgia is at risk natural disasters: • Severe thunderstorms, lightning, tornadoes and flooding • Tropical storms and hurricanes • Drought • Wildfires • Winter weather • Ice storms • Snow storms www.Ready.GA.gov

3. State of the Emergency • Georgia also is at risk for man-made and biological disasters • Chemical spills • Terrorist attacks • In June 2009, a college student was convicted of conspiring to provide material support for terrorism and was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison • Pandemics www.Ready.GA.gov

4. Why Prepare? • 2005 Hurricane Season • 18 tornadoes as a result of Katrina • March 2007 tornado outbreak • 21 tornadoes strike in worst outbreak in GA history • Nine people died • Sumter Regional Hospital destroyed • April 2007 wildfires • Worst wildfires in GA history, over 500,000 acres burned • 2008 drought • Worst drought in GA history; State of Emergency declared • March 2008 tornado outbreak • 11 tornadoes touch down, including first in history to strike downtown Atlanta • 2008 Mother’s Day tornadoes • At least 20 tornadoes touch down, including a rare EF-4 tornado • Four people killed • Spring 2009 flooding, tornadoes • 46 counties receive federal disaster declaration • Spring 2009 H1N1 • 50 died, 800 hospitalized • September 2009 Flooding • Ten fatalities • Approximately 125 roads closed • Douglas County residents without water for a week • January 2011 Winter Storm • Brought up to 7 inches of snow, freezing rain and a half inch of ice • Travel disrupted for several days, inaugural activities scaled back • April 2011 Tornadoes • Fifteen tornadoes including a rare EF-4, 9th in GA history • Fifteen fatalities • More than 2,000 homes damaged • Presidential disaster declaration for 25 counties • Summer 2011 Wildfires • 320,000 acres burned over two months • Fire Management Assistance Declaration issued for Racepond and Sweat Farm Again fires in Brantley, Charlton and Ware counties • 250 people evacuated • More than 1,300 firefighters responded from around the U.S. and Canada • 2014 Winter Storms www.Ready.GA.gov

5. Plan for Success • Safeguard your business from unforeseen natural or manmade disasters that can occur without warning • According to the SBA, small to mid-size businesses are most vulnerable • A business continuity plan will • Protect your employees and bottom line • Minimize loss and damages • Ensure strong economic development in Georgia www.ready.ga.gov

6. Real-life Example • Eggo waffles comprise 73 percent of the market • They disappeared from supermarkets for seven months in 2009-2010 due, in part, to flood damage at its Atlanta plant www.Ready.GA.gov

7. Ready Resources • Ready Georgia offers “Ready Your Business” • Intended for use by small or large organizations in any industry • Implemented plan will help limit impact from major interruptions that could disrupt normal operations • 12 Point Program makes planning comprehensive, easy www.ready.ga.gov

8. #1 Create Planning Team • Determine who will participate in emergency planning and crisis management • Develop a chain of command/continuity of authority (one primary two alternates) • Keep team information updated www.ready.ga.gov

9. #2 Communications • Establish options and solutions for a communications plan • Maintain reliable communications with employees, customers, vendors and responders www.ready.ga.gov

10. #3 Risks and Hazards • Work with your local emergency management agency to assess risks and hazards • The two biggest mistakes that many businesses make are (1) failing to identify a potential hazard, and (2) underestimating the severity of a known potential hazard. www.ready.ga.gov

11. #4 Internal/External Resources • Evaluate each department or area of organization to identify internal resources and capabilities needed to respond to an emergency • Identify external resources such as public emergency services, business partners, vendors and contractors www.ready.ga.gov

12. #5 Vulnerability Assessment • This assessment is the process of identifying, quantifying and documenting the probability and overall severity of various types of threats or hazards • Select a minimum of three risks/hazards www.ready.ga.gov

13. #6 Essential Business Function • Determine each function that generates revenue or is essential to normal business operations • Identify what functions must be operating for recovery • Recognize the most critical, time sensitive and analyze cost of downtime www.ready.ga.gov

14. #7 Human Resources: Contacts • Review employee information • Learn how to best communicate • Train and prepare for unexpected events • Develop emergency HR procedures, such as teleworking • Promote individual and family preparedness in newsletters, on website, etc. www.ready.ga.gov

15. Get a Kit • Recommended items: • Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days • Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food • Flashlight and extra batteries • Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with extra batteries for both • Special items for infant, elderly or disabled family members and pets www.Ready.GA.gov

16. Where to Keep Your Kit • Keep items in a plastic storage container, backpack or tote bag. • Store your kit in a designated area and have it ready to go if needed • Keep an extra kit in your car and at the office www.Ready.GA.gov

17. Make a Plan • Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance • Plan places where your family will meet, both within and outside of your immediate neighborhood • Make sure everyone knows where to go if a tornado warning is issued (basement or interior hallway) • Plan how you will care for your pets in an emergency • Identify an out-of-town contact • Have redundant ways to call the emergency contact (texting, solar/hand crank cell phone battery chargers, landline phone, car charger) www.Ready.GA.gov

18. www.Ready.GA.gov

19. There’s an App for That Android QR Code iPhone QR Code www.Ready.GA.gov

20. Promoting Preparedness • Online resources: • Provide a link to Ready Georgia on your website using the badge • Showcase our YouTube videos • Mention Ready Georgia and www.ready.ga.gov in newsletters • Distribute Ready checklists at meetings www.ready.ga.gov

21. Online Toolkit • Use the toolkit to engage your employees • Handouts • Backgrounders • Presentation Tools • Recent Research www.ready.ga.gov

22. #8 Evacuation and Sheltering • Determine when to evacuate or shelter in place • Communicate that life and safety of employees and customers are number one priority www.ready.ga.gov

23. #9 Emergency Supplies • Prepare facility with necessary supply items in case of an emergency • Coordinate supplies by what the organization can provide and what employees should maintain in their work areas www.ready.ga.gov

24. Question • What is NOAA Weather radio? www.Ready.GA.gov

25. Answer • NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts watches and warnings from the National Weather Service and information about man-made disasters, like an act of terrorism. It will wake you up in the middle of the night and give you critical minutes needed to take cover. You can buy them for about $30 at many stores. www.Ready.GA.gov

26. #10 Insurance Coverage • A business may rely on an insurance claim payment to carry them through a disaster • Review insurance types, limits and options for necessary recovery www.ready.ga.gov

27. #11 Vital Records • Record all documents that are vital to perform your essential business functions or necessary to file an insurance claim or apply for a business recovery loan • Examples include financial, contractual, business insurance, customers, vendors www.ready.ga.gov

28. #12 Data Protection • Develop a backup program and off-site storage procedure with a data recovery program • Establish procedures to safeguard data against outside attacks and employee error • Protect your business against compromised personal information www.ready.ga.gov

29. Question • What is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States? www.Ready.GA.gov

30. Answer • Heat • Based on the 10-year average from 2000 to 2009, excessive heat claims an average of 162 lives a year. • NEVER leave children or animals in a parked car. It can take as little as two minutes for temperatures to reach lethal levels, even in the spring and fall. www.Ready.GA.gov

31. Question • How many inches of fast-moving water does it take to know someone off their feet? www.Ready.GA.gov

32. Answer Six inches! • Other flood facts … • One foot of water can float a full-size automobile. Two feet of fast-moving water can sweep it away. • Nearly half of all flash-flood fatalities are vehicle-related, so never drive through standing water in the road. Turn around and don’t drown! www.Ready.GA.gov

33. Social Media • GEMA is on Twitter. Follow us @GeorgiaEMA • “Like” GEMA and Ready GA on Facebook • www.facebook.com/ReadyGA • www.facebook.com/GEMA.OHS • Watch Ready Georgia’s videos on YouTube • www.youtube.com/ReadyGAfromGEMA www.Ready.GA.gov

34. Additional Resources • FEMA’s Continuity Business Suite software can be found at www.ready.gov/business-continuity-planning-suite • Enroll in the American Red Cross Ready Rating program at readyrating.org www.Ready.GA.gov

35. Questions? Lisa Janak Newman Lisa.Janak@gema.ga.gov www.Ready.GA.gov