For Businesses
Preparing for a Flood Disaster
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When you’ve prepared your business for a flood disaster, you’re in a much better position to respond quickly, confidently and safely.
Know the emergency warning system in your community. When advised to evacuate, leave immediately.
Safeguarding Underground Storage Tanks (pdf)
Safeguarding Wastewater Treatment Facilities (pdf)
Flood Checklist
Prepare a Disaster Plan
Prepare Your Business Location
Securing Agriculture Chemical Facilities
Flood Insurance
Safeguarding Your Finances
Prepare a Disaster Plan
Every business should have a detailed plan to evacuate, assess and repair damage, put people back to work and get the business up and running as quickly as possible following a disaster. Here’s how you start:
- Prepare a plan to communicate with employees and ensure their safety. Be sure to keep all employees informed of plans and review their responsibilities in the event of a flood.
- Develop a plan to stay in businesses, including identifying essential staff, materials, procedures and equipment. Carefully asses how the company functions, both internally and externally, to determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep business operating.
- Identify potential alternate work locations, if the work site is not accessible.
- Develop relationships with other companies to use their facilities in case a disaster makes your location unusable.
- Protect critical paper and electronic records, as well as inventory and other assets, and secure property.
- Identify operations critical to survival and recovery.
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Prepare Your Business Location
Preparing your location involves everything from protecting the building and its mechanisms, to your equipment, inventory and vital records, to protecting the public from dangerous substances that you have stored on site. Here’s how you start:
- Take all necessary steps to prevent the release of dangerous chemicals that might be stored on your property.
Locate gas main and electrical shut-offs.
- Move valuables, important documents and other records to a safe place.
- Remove products and supplies from basements and other below-ground storage.
- Postpone deliveries of new products until the flood risk has passed.
- Check on alternative product storage away from the flood zone.
- Maintain accurate inventory of product on site.
- Use plugs to prevent floodwater from backing up into sewer drains.
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Securing Agriculture Chemical Facilities
Because they are potentially poisonous when spilled in concentrated levels into the water or air, special care must be taken to secure agricultural chemicals. Here’s how you start:
- Move sensitive materials such as anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks, grain fumigants and other sensitive products and equipment out of the flood zone.
- Turn off power to ammonia system when unattended.
Protect all pesticides from rising water.
Construct barriers to prevent water from entering dry bulk fertilizer bins.
- Drain lines and remove pumps and other system components.
- Lock and protect storage tank valves.
- Secure storage tanks to prevent movement or damage by flood waters.
- Keep small packaged pesticide containers off the floor.
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Flood Insurance
Just a few inches of water from a flood can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Over the past 10 years, the average flood claim has amounted to over $33,000. Flood insurance is the best protection from devastating financial loss.
Flood insurance is available to businesses that own or rent their location. Costs vary depending on how much insurance is purchased, what it covers and the property’s flood risk.
Generally there is a waiting period before a flood insurance policy takes effect. Visit FloodSmart.gov and FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program for more information.
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Safeguarding Your Finances
Many home and business owners fall victim to home repair scams and dishonest contractors after natural disasters.
Before hiring any contractor to repair flood damage, contact the Department of Labor and Industry (1-800-342-5354) to verify that a potential contractor is licensed and to learn if there is any history of disciplinary action.
Do NOT sign anything presented by a contractor unless you read the document very carefully and have made a firm decision to hire that contractor. Generally speaking, if you sign a piece of paper, it is a contract, regardless of what the salesperson tells you and you are then obligated to its terms.
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