It is National Preparedness Month (NPM), and this year's themefocuses on being disaster-ready: “Be disaster aware, take action toprepare.”

According to The Readycampaign, which spearheads NPM, the U.S. experienced 24earthquakes, 392 severe storms, and 132 significant floods between1980 and 2010. Since 1980, there have been seven major terroristattacks on U.S. soil, according to CNN. Technological and accidental hazards,including nuclear power plant failures, hazardous materialincidents, and blackouts, can happen without warning and disrupt abusiness.

Natural or man-made disasters like these can spell the end forup to 40% of business affected by them, says the InsuranceInformation Institute.

The number one concern for any business owner during a disasteris protecting their employees and customers during and after theevent. But disaster preparedness can also help them get theirbusiness back on its feet faster once a disaster or emergency eventis over.

NPM is an initiative by The Ready campaign with the intention ofkeeping families and businesses aware of the risks they face andhow to be informed and prepared for what to do in the event of anemergency or disaster. Click “next” to read Ready.gov's four tipsto prepare a business for an emergency.

Be informed.

One of the best ways to prepare for a disaster is to be informedabout your community's disaster and emergency plans. Find out whatare hazards that are most likely to affect the area, and assess therisks and impact these hazards would have on your business. Aproper risk assessment and insurance can help businesses get backon their feet after a disaster fast.

Another important course of action is to find out how to bealerted of emergency situations. You can find out what kind ofalert systems are in place in your business' area by checking withFEMA's Integrated Public Alert & Warning System Authorities.

It is also important to learn where the closest short-term andlong-term shelters are to your business. The length of time you arerequired to shelter may be short, such as during a tornado warning,or long, such as during a winter storm or a pandemic. It isimportant to keep your employees safe in a shelter until localauthorities say it is safe to leave.

Stay informed about what your business' community's plans are byasking local officials questions like:

• What hazards are most likely?
• How will I get alerts and warnings?
• What is the advice and plans for sheltering andevacuation?
• Are there emergency contact numbers I should have for differentsituations?
• Are there opportunities for preparedness education andtraining?
• Does my community have a plan?

Once you know what preparation plans are in place in yourbusiness' community, you can create a site-specific plan for yourworkplace.

Make a plan.

When creating a disaster plan for a business, owners should takean “all hazards” approach. While it is important to prepare forhazards that are most likely to hit (i.e. preparing for a majorweather event like a severe hurricane if you live in an area thatis prone to hurricanes), the probability that a specific hazardwill impact a business is hard to determine. That's why businessowners should consider many different threats and hazards and thelikelihood that they will occur.

Prevention and risk mitigation should be developed as part ofthe planning process. Threats or hazards that are classified asprobable, and those hazards that could cause injury, propertydamage, business disruption or environmental impact, should beaddressed and properly insured against.

Items to address include physical assets like buildings,information technology, utility systems, machinery, raw materials,and finished goods that could be affected or lost in any kind ofdisaster. Look for vulnerabilities like deficiencies in buildingconstruction, process systems, security, protection systems andloss prevention programs within your business, and address anyweaknesses to ensure the severity of damage to these systems whenan incident occurs is as low as possible.

Business owners should create a range of plans and make themeasily accessible to their employees, so they can stay informed andaware during an emergency situation as well. Types of plans to haveare:

• An emergency response plan to protect people,property, and the environment. This plan should include evacuation,sheltering, and lockdown protocols, as well as plans for othertypes of threats identified during risk assessment.
• A crisis communications plan tocommunicate with employees, customers, news media, andstakeholders.
• A business continuity plan that includesrecovery strategies to overcome the disruption of business.
• An information technology plan to recovercomputer hardware, software, connectivity, and electronic data tosupport critical business processes.
• An incident management system to defineresponsibilities and coordinate activities before, during, andfollowing an incident.
• A training program to train people with adefined role within the preparedness plan to do their assignedtasks. All employees should be trained.

Employers should conduct testing and exercises to evaluate theeffectiveness of the preparedness program and make sure employeesknow what to do or if there is room for improvement in theplan.

An employer should also include employee assistance and supportin their business preparedness plan to encourage employees andtheir families to develop their own family preparedness plans, tosupport the employee's needs following an incident.

Build a kit.

Having a kit of basic supplies in your business to protectemployees during a disasater is important. Food, water, and othersupplies are essential to have on hand in the event that a disasterprevents you and your employees from being able to leave theworksite for an extended period of time. It is important to haveenough supplies for everyone to be able to last at least 72hours.

A basic kit would contain the following items:

• One gallon of water per person per day, for drinking andsanitation.
• At least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and an NOAA weather radiowith tone alert, and extra batteries for both.
• Flashlight and extra batteries.
• First aid kit.
• Whistle to signal for help.
• Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheetingand duct tape to shelter-in-place.
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties for personalsanitation.
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities.
• Manual can opener for food.
• Local maps.
• Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger.

Kits should be stored in a well-protected but easily accessibleplace within the workplace, and should be maintained regularly.

Employees should be encouraged to make their own preparations,making sure they have food, water, and other necessities likemedicines in their own kits. Keeping comfortable walking shoes atwork is also a good idea, in case an evacuation requires walkinglong distances.

If a vehicle is an employee's “workplace,” make sure to takeproper preparedness steps for that situation, as well. A kit ofemergency supplies should be kept in vehicles and include extrasupplies like:

• Jumper cables.
• AM/FM radio to listen to traffic reports and emergencymessages.
• Cat litter or sand for better tire traction.
• Shovel.
• Ice scraper.
• Warm clothes, gloves, hat, sturdy boots, jacket and an extrachange of clothes.
• Blankets or sleeping bags.
• Flares or reflective triangle.

Get involved.

As a business owner, get involved in the preparation process asmuch as possible. Having firsthand knowledge of your business'disaster preparation will give you an advantage when a disasterstrikes.

It can also help to get involved with disaster preparednessefforts within your workplace's community. Getting trained in andvolunteering with a Community Emergency Response Team, MedicalReserve Corps unit, and/or other Citizen Corps Partner Programs cangive you an upper hand in aiding your own business during anemergency.

Being part of the community planning process and joining apreparedness project can also provide a wealth of experience tohelp you build your business' plan.