Earthquakes are one of the most devastating types of natural disasters, leading to billions of dollars in damage and losses each year. While some parts of the country have a higher earthquake hazard risk, any state can experience a damaging earthquake.
Depending on its size, an earthquake can cause buildings to collapse or undergo structural damage, leading to complete business shutdowns. Even if your business recovers, the process could take years. Having a plan can drastically reduce the harm caused by a natural disaster.
The National Institute of Building Sciences estimates natural disaster mitigation can save up to $13 for every $1 invested, possibly translating to millions or even billions of dollars in savings. To illustrate, the Anheuser-Busch brewing company invested $11 million in retrofitting its California brewery and saved $2 billion after an earthquake hit.
Also, consider how only one hour of downtime can cost a business over $150,000, depending on the industry and company size. If an earthquake causes your business to stop operating for a couple of days, that could mean millions of dollars lost due to downtime. Disaster planning can drastically reduce downtime and all its related costs.
We’ll help you start planning with an earthquake preparedness checklist for businesses. If you’re ready to train employees to respond to disasters, let us know. We’ll partner with you to develop comprehensive and customized emergency preparedness training.
The Importance of Having an Earthquake Preparedness Plan
An earthquake preparedness and continuity plan is critical to protecting your employees’ safety and well-being and keeping your business running. According to the Ready program, an estimated 75% of companies that lack a continuity plan fail within three years following a disaster.
You and your employees can quickly get back on track if you know what to do when disaster strikes.
What to Do Before an Earthquake
Preparing for an earthquake involves knowing how to handle the disaster before, during and after it hits. Here’s what you’ll need to do beforehand:
1. Consider Your Risk
The first step to preparing for an earthquake is to assess your risk and ask the following questions:
- Is your business in an earthquake-hazard zone?
- Can your building’s design withstand shaking?
- Do you have commercial earthquake insurance?
If you don’t have earthquake insurance, it’s worth looking into, especially if you live in an earthquake-prone area. Earthquake insurance generally covers the cost of building and inventory damage.
2. Train Employees
Do your employees know what to do if an earthquake strikes? Are they ready to respond to related hazards, like fires or power outages? If not, implement training that provides earthquake safety information and teaches workers what to do. Be sure employees know their roles in the event of a disaster as well.
It’s also a best practice that at least 10% of employees should know CPR and first-aid basics. All employees should know which co-workers have CPR and first-aid certification and where to find them.
3. Gather Resources and Supplies
Know who you’ll contact for an emergency response and have this information accessible. Your call list should include the police, fire department, other local businesses and your electric and cable companies. Think about how you’ll communicate with emergency responders if phone lines go down or cell service is unavailable.
Also, stock up on safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, first-aid kits and emergency supplies. Every employee should know where these supplies are.
Lastly, consider how you’ll keep power in your business and if you should have backup generators.
4. Develop a Response Plan
You’ll need to share a response plan that instructs your team on how to safely, calmly evacuate the building during a disaster. They’ll also need to know what to do if your business shuts down temporarily following the event. This plan should include contact numbers and how to reach you if there are issues with the communication infrastructure.
Also, consider how you’ll stay in touch with critical suppliers and customers. Make this part of your response plan. Think about storing a backup copy of your essential data off-site, in an area that is not prone to natural disasters.
5. Create a Continuity Plan
Determine the quickest way to get your business back up and running after an earthquake, including who is responsible for completing mission-critical activities. Know what documents you’ll need to keep on hand and store them in a secure, easily accessible location.
Take this Back-to-Business Self-Assessment to help you identify areas your continuity plan needs to address.
What to Do During an Earthquake
During an earthquake, most injuries result from falling objects, broken glass and collapsing walls. Employees must know to drop to the floor and take cover under a sturdy desk or table during earthquake movement. They should know not to use elevators as well.
If they’re outside, they should get to an open space away from trees, buildings or power lines and remain still if possible. Injuries are more likely to occur as someone moves around during an earthquake.
What to Do After an Earthquake
Depending on their size, earthquakes typically last a few seconds and up to a couple of minutes. After the shaking stops, the first thing to do is check yourself and your employees for injuries and provide first aid or contact emergency medical services as needed. Then, it’s critical to check utility lines and pipes for damage. If anyone smells gas, open the windows, evacuate the building and call 911.
Plan to bring crucial documents to your recovery site and immediately notify all stakeholders of the event. Once you’ve established it’s safe to re-enter your building, you can assess the damage and put your continuity plan in motion.
Earthquake Preparedness Checklist
There’s much to consider when preparing your business for an earthquake. Use this checklist to ensure you cover all of your bases:
- Have you performed a risk assessment to identify potential hazards?
- Do you have earthquake insurance?
- How and where will you back up data?
- Did you store essential documents in a secure, easy-to-access location?
- Have you trained employees on how to respond to an earthquake and related hazards, such as a power outage?
- Have you practiced your response plan with employees?
- Are there maps of evacuation routes and post-disaster meeting locations in your building?
- Do employees know who to contact after the disaster?
- Do you and your employees have a communication procedure if there’s no cell service or working phone lines?
- Have you appointed a person or team to manage disaster response?
- Do you have a readily accessible list of emergency contact numbers?
- Have you developed a business continuity plan?
- Does your continuity plan include your most critical business functions and how they’ll continue after the event?
- Do you know how you’ll communicate with suppliers, vendors and customers after the disaster?
- Are shelves, cabinets, computers, heavy equipment and other pieces of furniture secure?
- Do you have emergency supplies and first-aid kits, and do employees know where these items are?
- Do you have tools to shut off water or gas valves if needed?
Prepare Your Employees With Foster Fuels
While you can’t predict or prevent earthquakes, you can teach your employees how to respond and stay safe. Your team members are your company’s most valuable asset, and it’s essential to protect them.
At Foster Fuels, we offer emergency response training to help you and your team get ready for any disaster. We’ll tailor a program to meet your business’ goals and needs. With custom preparation, you and your employees will know what to do during and after an earthquake or other natural disaster, increasing safety and recovering faster.
To learn more about our emergency response training services and how we can help your business stay strong, contact us today.
