Call SERVPRO of Ames to Help Prepare Your Business for Flooding

11/11/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Ames can help you develop an Emergency Ready Profile to make sure you're prepared for flooding or any other kind of disaster.

For commercial business owners who do not operate in a floodplain, it may seem odd to prepare for flooding. However, national disasters include flooding around 90% of the time, and many affected areas are those not traditionally prone to flooding.

It’s smart for business owners to plan for the possibility of a flood, to keep their employees safe and to get their business reopened more quickly after a disaster.

What to Do Ahead of Time
By addressing the risk of flooding, training employees and planning ahead, business owners will be much more prepared and will know how to stay safe. Some key points to plan for include:

• Referencing the FEMA Flood Map to get an idea of your risk levels
• Copying all paperwork and records to a safe, external server or cloud-based storage
• Drafting your own Emergency Action Plan and training employees 
• Clearly marking the office evacuation route
• Considering the purchase of flood insurance if it is something your business insurance does not handle
• Assembling an emergency kit for the workplace in the event you and other employees are stranded for a time
• A plan to relocate valuable assets to the highest possible areas if flooding becomes imminent

The Documents to Preserve
In order to restore and reopen your business as soon as possible, it’s crucial to back up all important documents and data to a safe off-site or cloud-based location. Some of these essential documents include:

• The continuity plan for how you will resume operations
• Contact information for employees, as well as their emergency contacts
• Your insurance policy for the business and flood coverage, if applicable
• Vendor information, along with contact information for suppliers and any other third parties that may be crucial to operations
• Guidelines for how to recover files from computer backups
• Any pertinent financial documents

Call SERVPRO of Ames at 515-233-4544 to help you set up a SERVPRO® Emergency Ready Profile. We’ll make sure you’re prepared for flooding or any other kind of disaster that can affect your business. It’s FREE and can make the difference between the life and death of your Boone or Story County business.