Prepare for Hurricane Season with a Plan and Backup Generators

Posted by Jack Barry on Tue, Jun 12, 2012

Diesel backup generators

Hurricane season has begun. Are you ready?  

Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano is urging coastal residents to get ready for storms and storm aftermaths.  Already this year we have seen two storms: Alberto and Beryl.  While there are many organizations and collective groups established to help others prepare, responsibility relies mostly on the individual and businesses.  

The White House provides three tips you can do now:

  1. familiarize yourself with disasters most likely to happen where you live
  2. make a plan on how your family and loved ones will communicate after a disaster
  3. build an emergency kit/pack that can last for at least 72 hours

How can you protect your employees and businesses in the event of a hurricane?  Do some research on FEMA’s helpful website.  They suggest creating a plan on what actions to take for your employees will create better awareness about the possibility of a storm as well as making sure everyone is on the same page.  Creating a plan also puts you in the role of leader.  Be prepared for people to come to you in the event of an emergency.  Your plan should include these five steps as suggested by FEMA:

  1. Program management: organize, create, and administer your preparedness plan and make sure you comply with the minimum regulations for disaster relief plans.
  2. Planning: do research on the hazards and the risks during the disaster and after, conduct a business impact analysis, also examine ways to prevent risks.
  3. Implementation: your plan should include resource management, emergency response, crisis communications, business sustainability, information technology, employee assistance and support, incident management, and training.
  4. Testing and Exercises: all of the preparation is worthless if you haven’t practiced to see if everything works successfully.  After you run through your plan in real life with your employees, evaluate to see if you need to improve anything.
  5. Program Improvement: Make sure you change your plan accordingly each year and review your program annually. Use the evaluation to make successful changes.

Post disaster is also an opportunity to improve your program.  There are triggers signaling you to make improvements to your plan.  Triggers include: regulatory changes, new hazards, new processes, weaknesses identified in your tests, additions to your company, new construction at your workplace, funding changes and more.

Depco engine and generator equipment can help you in any emergency.  Along with FEMA’s suggestions to create a plan and have a supply kit, even investing in a back up power source is an extra step you can take.  Make sure you know how to turn off your utilities before a disaster to ensure further safety.  And of course, stay informed as much as possible.

Depco cares about your safety and wants to supply you the best power equipment around.  Businesses, residences, and people can stay safe with Depco.


Tags: Hurricanes, backup power, Disaster Planning

    Subscribe via Email

    New Call-to-action
    New Call-to-action

    Latest Posts

    Follow Depco