Hurricane Earl bears down on Mid-Atlantic

Written by Editor, CIR

2010-09-01

With the National Hurricane Center projecting that Hurricane Earl could impact the Mid-Atlantic region by tomorrow (Thursday), Zurich is advising businesses to ensure storm preparations are made.

“Businesses in the Mid-Atlantic should know that there are measures that can be taken now, even as a hurricane approaches, which can help mitigate costly losses during and after the storm,” said Armand Fernandez, chief risk engineering officer, Zurich Services Corporation.

“Zurich’s hurricane emergency action plan guidelines, whitepapers, and brief video presentations offer guidance on how businesses can protect people and buildings and coordinate post-storm activities.”

Zurich’s video presentation, “Hurricane Preparedness – 36 Hours Out,” details steps businesses can take in the 36 hours before impact. The video can be viewed here: https://www.brainshark.com/zurich/vu?pi=641034144

When a hurricane warning has been issued, Zurich’s “Easy-tough guide to starting a hurricane emergency action plan” offers businesses guidelines for actions that can be taken in the 24 hours before the storm hits, including but not limited to:

• Protecting or relocating vital business records
• Removing all loose outdoor storage or equipment
• Anchoring portable buildings or trailers to the ground
• Securing outdoor storage or equipment that cannot be moved
• Starting the installation of manual protection systems (e.g. shutters, plywood covers and flood gates)
• Raising critical equipment off floors (e.g. PC towers) and moving critical equipment from below grade areas
• Covering critical stock and equipment with waterproof tarpaulins
• Initiating an orderly shutdown of production equipment and systems that rely upon normal power
• Turning off fuel gas services and non-essential electrical systems
• Verifying all fire protection systems are in service (e.g. water supplies, fire pumps, sprinklers, fire alarms and special extinguishing systems)

The full whitepaper is available at:
http://www.zurichna.com/internet/zna/SiteCollectionDocuments/en/media/hurricane/Zuricheasytoughguidetostartingahurricaneemergencyactionplan.pdf

For businesses not within striking distance of Earl, but still within a hurricane-prone region, it is not too late to implement a hurricane emergency action plan.

“This should be a living, breathing document that is reviewed and updated at the outset of each hurricane season.”

Zurich has prepared a brief interactive audio and visual presentation that outlines why hurricane emergency action plans are important, what they should entail, the costliness of being unprepared, and other important considerations for businesses in hurricane-prone regions. View the presentation here:
https://www.brainshark.com/zurich/HurricanePreparedness

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