In August, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans with a devastating blow that created widespread death and destruction. The economic impact to the city of New Orleans was reported to be in excess of $89.6 billion. In terms of industries affected, the impact was spread across every segment:
Oil & Gas: It severely damaged most of the Gulf of Mexico oil production facilities, shut down 9 oil refineries and virtually shut the entire industry down in the region for 6 months.
Forestry: Total loss to the industry estimated to be in excess of $5 billion.
Small business: Hundreds of businesses were shut down or permanently closed and thousands of jobs lost.
During the days and weeks that followed only those equipped with handheld and other portable satellite devices were able to communicate with the outside world due to the destruction of the land based telecom networks.
What did we learn?
Katrina has shown us the sheer power and destruction that can result from a storm of this magnitude and the importance of being prepared. Emergency Preparedness has become a buzz word today but I am sad to say that in my experience, many small to medium sized businesses have not learned the lessons that Katrina taught us.
For small business an investment of a few thousand dollars can keep you “connected” to your customer base during and after such an event. For larger organizations, systems are available that can interface with your PBX to keep voice communication open to everyone within the organization. There are also high speed satellite data systems that can assist in the event of a total system failure to ensure that email and electronic data flow won’t be interrupted.
Remember, natural disasters are not limited to hurricanes and tornadoes; they can happen anywhere and leave your business crippled. Be prepared!
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