Be Prepared for Narural Disasters

No matter what you call it, a natural disaster is something that comes with or without warning. The year 2011 was rich in natural catastrophes that cost billions of dollars. In the United States alone, there were numerous hurricanes and tornadoes. There were earthquakes that rocked and destroyed places on the East Coast, in Colorado and in Peru. Japan had her share of tsunami while Queensland, Australia, Bangkok and most recently the Philippines, suffered from devastating floods. Many people learned the lesson that natural disasters should be put at the top of risk concerns.

Businesses and government agencies have to be prepared for all these impending disasters. Every business and agency should have its own disaster recovery plan. In today’s information-driven world, power outages and network failures can be a result, and these further the chaos that comes with disasters. It should not be too late for every business to adapt and respond to risks if it is to survive. No matter what happens, there should be uninterrupted and continuous access to data, whether it is personal or corporate in nature.

So, how should one get ready for disaster? It is a given that the most important assets of a company or agency are its people. These people have their own most important asset, which is their family. The company or agency should have a plan on how to move its people, including their families, if the need arises. There should also be efforts to make a communication plan that is timely, clear and honest.

Because company and agency data are vital to the uninterrupted stream of activities, a data back-up plan should be verified and validated. Is it actually out of harm’s way? Is it accessible to the recovery location? What about data privacy? Cloud service is now available so a company or agency could use this to store key data.

Thinking ahead of the situation, it should be clear to all that catastrophic events could last for some time. The impact of such events could be expected to last for days, weeks or even months. What options are there if the business facilities, network, technology and people could not be available? It is also very important to think about those other businesses associated with it. Their being prepared has a direct effect on any company or agency because together, they form a chain or network. There is no point in doing everything right if everybody else around is not prepared.

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