24/7 Emergency Service
Get your Commercial Crew Ready for a Weather Emergency | SERVPRO of Talladega, Clay & Randolph Counties
9/19/2023 (Permalink)
If your home or business was damaged in a storm, call SERVPRO of Talladega, Clay & Randolph Counties to get you back in action.
When you are prepared for anything, you can overcome everything. That couldn’t be more important than for someone who owns or runs a business. Not only do you need to be prepared in order to keep your company going, you also need a crew around you that is prepared to get through it all.
You likely train your staff for work-related issues extensively, but have you considered training them for potential severe weather risks? Weather-related disasters can be devastating for companies, and even result in long-term closures when a business is not prepared.
Create an emergency weather plan with your crew in order to keep everyone safe and avoid extreme losses.
In order to create a plan that covers every potential risk your business might face, you need to first get to know what weather hazards your climate might bring. Get to know what risks you will face seasonally, and take a look at past disasters to better understand what can happen to your property.
Alabama weather can be a mixed bag. With milder winters and hot summers, there really aren’t a lot of risks that can be ruled out. Severe thunderstorms, flooding, strong winds and hail as well as tornadoes are some of the top threats your business will face. These risks are higher in the spring and summer, but the potential is there for any of these weather disasters to strike year-round.
As you build your plan, take a look at flood maps in order to fully understand water risks along with other severe threats. Check local weather every day, and use long-term forecasts as a way to prepare as early as possible.
Once you have better established the specific threats your business might face, create a communication plan that will get messages to everyone involved and keep everyone on the same page.
Your team should have two ways to receive weather alerts and two ways to receive communications internally. Make sure your team understands the different steps of your emergency plan so that they know exactly how to respond at every moment. Every staff member should know their role when it is time to gather supplies as well as how to get out when an evacuation is necessary.
Needing to evacuate might feel like it is only for the most extreme situations, but sometimes it is the best way to keep everyone safe. Talk with your team about the safest ways to exit from every area of the building, and make sure routes are clearly labeled. Practice exiting on a regular basis so everyone knows how to respond quickly.
If evacuation is not safe, your building should have a sheltering location where everyone can ride out the storm. Make sure your staff knows where this is, and keep supplies close. Your sheltering space should be on a low level without windows and should be clearly labeled.
Regardless of how much of an emergency plan you have to put in place during an event, your team should be prepared enough to avoid panicking. Maintaining calm and keeping anxiety low is the best way to ensure everyone does what they need to in order to stay safe. Prepare your team and rest easy knowing your business can handle one more hurdle as it comes your way.
Don’t let extreme weather take control! If storms strike your business, SERVPRO® can help you restore your losses.