- Be aware of the natural disasters that could occur in your area. These include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, extreme cold, extreme heat, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis and wildfires.
- Have your facility evaluated by a trained safety or emergency management professional for potential hazards.
- Look into the history of your location to see which types of natural disasters have occurred in the past and how frequently.
- Create an evacuation plan and practice it often. Asking for employee suggestions and insight can help make employees feel involved in the process and therefore more enthusiastic about participating.
- Write your plan so that copies can be distributed to all employees, including those in remote locations.
- Ensure that you have the appropriate supplies on hand to deal with a natural disaster.
- In the event that your business is spread out (e.g., employees are working on an oil rig or a construction site), have a system in place that uses apps, text messages, phone calls and sirens to alert employees of imminent danger.
- Have a media relations policy in place in the event that information needs to be released after a catastrophic event. Prepare press releases ahead of time that can easily be tweaked during an emergency.
- Ensure that all data is backed up on a regular basis and have a set of approved vendors in place for quick replacements of equipment and bringing on temporary employees, if necessary.
- Ensure your company has the proper insurance policy in the event that a natural disaster does occur.
- Most importantly, evaluate and update your plan on a regular basis. Having a plan that was created years ago may not be sufficiently up to date to deal with the most serious risks.
Visit NIOSH's page on emergency response resources for more information.
