How Your Business Can Help the Community Prepare for Hurricane Season
If your business operates in a hurricane-prone region, it’s important to be prepared throughout hurricane season — long before authorities issue a hurricane watch. Hurricane season in the Atlantic lasts from June to November, but most hurricane activity happens between mid-August and mid-October, peaking on or around September 10th.
Helping Your Neighbors
When creating or reviewing your business’s in-case-of-emergency plans, have you considered how you’ll help your neighbors prepare, too? Your business is part of a community, and the community helps your business succeed!
Here are four ways your business can help the community prepare for a hurricane:
Share updates with the community through social media.
Has a hurricane watch been issued? Share this information on your social media channels to alert neighbors. Check sources such as FEMA and ready.gov for information on hurricane preparedness — such as what emergency supplies to have ready and when to evacuate — and share important information on your channels when appropriate.
Your business’s social media channels are the perfect outlet to share business updates and relay information about hours and other changes to business processes during this time, too!
Know your neighbors.
Does your business have a physical location, such as an office or a brick-and-mortar store? Take the time to get to know those in the neighborhood. Ensure that your neighbors are ready for hurricane conditions, especially those who may live alone or require additional accommodations if evacuation is necessary.
If possible, help provide or arrange assistance for members of the community in need. Check in on neighbors and offer support.
Gather donations.
Does your community have the resources they need? Do your employees and neighbors have the non-perishable food items they’ll need in the event of a hurricane warning or evacuation? Consider making a company contribution to your community. Donate resources such as sandbags and plywood or canned food and water bottles to nearby shelters or directly to your neighbors and employees!
Volunteer.
Donating time is a fantastic way to help your community prepare, too.
Before or during hurricane season, organize volunteering opportunities for your employees, such as:
- Helping to physically prepare buildings and homes for the threat of hurricane conditions by reinforcing windows and doors.
- Collecting non-perishable food items for local food shelters or monetary donations for local causes that could be directly impacted by a hurricane.
- Educating neighbors on the importance of hurricane preparedness and having a plan in place.
To learn more about how your business can prepare for hurricane conditions, read our spring blog on hurricane preparation for businesses, available here.
