Disaster Risk Management

“Disasters can happen to anyone at any time, but research says even the best disaster-recovery plans will not work exactly as envisioned (Drew & Tysiac, 2013). Huge amounts of destruction and suffering can lead to mental health and other issues for employees. This is why organizations should focus on their people’s needs. Firms in the state of Florida and other natural disaster areas are well-advised to have business interruption insurance, which is structured to compensate businesses for time-frames when they are unable to operate because of disaster.

Article by Drew and Tysiac states, “” The best and most important part of the plan is to identify how to safeguard assets and client records prior to a disaster””. A recovery plan should be developed to mitigate losses and help an organization recovery as soon as possible after a disaster has occurred (Drew & Tysiac, 2013).

Some of the important things that should be considered in a recovery plan are ways to communicate with employees and customers, a location if office space is destroyed by a disaster, how to access important files, meeting human needs of staff, what services or parts of the business can be restored first, and the type of insurance the company has for disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. (Drew & Tysiac, 2013). When it comes to communication, firms need a plan in case phone towers are damaged, there is power loss or other unforeseen events happening. Location is critical in case the office is destroyed, firms can set up at designated houses or areas that have no damage. When it comes to accessing files, firms really should use a backup on computer systems or iCloud because papers get damaged in disasters. When it comes to the human needs of staff, firms need to establish if mental health services will be available and how they can get a paycheck to employees. Not only the business, but employees have to deal with the loss of their own personal property as well. Restoring a business after a disaster can be hard and challenging but certain parts can be restored quicker than others. Firms should figure out what services they can still provide to their customers and how they can provide them. Having the proper insurance for disasters is critical to help restore an organization and its business as soon as possible. Every organization should have a copy of their policy on a computer backup system as well in case it is lost by the insurance agency (Drew & Tysiac, 2013).

Using the example above, a hurricane will have a negative effect on the swimwear shop. Businesses have to remember to communicate during crisis situations and execute business contingency plans after the crisis. The business first needs to identify the risk which would include the location (building), type of insurance coverage they have to cover the losses from the disaster, merchandise in the store being damaged or lost, suppliers being able to get supplies to the location (alternate routes or delivery methods), and the mental and physical state of the employees since they are local residents and the disaster may impact them and their properties as well. Our lecture explains that emergency response capability is a highly effective method to mitigate disaster risk (Miles, 2018). This includes planning, preparedness plans, rehearsals, weather forecasting, and insurance (Miles, 2018).

Once the business assessment and risk analysis are complete, managers can start to develop their emergency action plan. The first priority is to gain clarity on the insurance policy and what all it covers including building and merchandise. Store hours would be reduced and communication with employees have to be established. When it comes to the supplier, the shop should reduce inventory and also reduce prices in the store during hurricane session to minimize the loss of merchandise. Once the disaster is over, the manager/owner of the shop should make sure the supplier can deliver and have inventory to meet the customer’s demands. Of course, merchandise prices will increase after a disaster to help recover from the loss in sales. As a manager, setting up a temporary location in case of severe building damage after a disaster would not be a bad idea. This allows the company to still serve the community and also give employees an opportunity to work and earn wages. After the disaster, I would have half of the staff at the original shop to help clean and build the swimwear shop back up while the other half at the temporary location continuing with business. Businesses should have a separate account (funds) to help cover deductibles, employee payments, and damages the natural disasters may cause. Mitigation of disasters can be successful only when the detailed knowledge is obtained about the expected frequency, character, and magnitude of the dangerous events in the area (Charoenpanyanet & Suwanprasit, 2018).

References

Charoenpanyanet, A., & Suwanprasit, C. (2018). GeoS4S Module Disaster Risk Management. International Journal of Geoinformatics, 14(3), 75–78.

Drew, J., & Tysiac, K. (2013). Preparing for Disaster. Journal of Accountancy, 215(5), 26–31.

Miles, Angela. (2018). Unit 7: Planning for Catastrophic Events & Preparing for Workplace Safety. Retrieved from https://betheluniversityonline.net/grad360/default.aspx?SectionID=286&tabid=156#/unit/7/Attend

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