Business Planning Guide

Disasters both natural and man made strike suddenly and destructively and can kill or injure your employees, damage structures and equipment and interrupt or terminate business operations. Yet, injuries and damage can be reduced or avoided entirely if appropriate preparedness measures are taken. An effective preparedness plan can keep you in business after disaster.

Here are steps prudent businesses can take to prepare for earthquakes:

• Prepare and update your company's disaster plan. A good plan addresses the following areas:

employee safety and basic survival

emergency operating procedures

emergency financial procedures

emergency communications systems

emergency transportation systems

alternative office facilities

• Assemble emergency kits with water, first aid supplies, radios, flashlights, batteries, heavy gloves, food and sanitation supplies. Maintain in a secure, accessible location.
• Consult local building codes to ensure that your building meets current seismic safety standards.
• Conduct drills to ensure that your company's earthquake plan is effective. Revise as necessary.
• Educate staff, as applicable, on earthquake effects in high rise buildings. (Lower floors will shake rapidly, much like low-rise buildings. Upper floors will move slower, but the building will move farther from side to side.)
• Secure and anchor equipment and furniture, including bookshelves, cabinets, computers, and typewriters.
• Hold workshops or host "brown bag" seminars during the lunch hour on disaster assessment.
• Include articles on the importance of workplace and home preparedness in employee newsletters, or provide employees with brochures or flyers.
• Develop a business recovery plan on how to restore your business after a disaster.
• Conduct a "hazard hunt" to find potential dangers in your business setting.
• Obtain agreements with vendors and customers for post-disaster operations.
• Develop an inventory of critical supplies and equipment.

Washington State Disaster Preparedness Month provides an opportunity for businesses of all

types to "Prepare Because You Care."

Washington State Military Department, Emergency Management Division