Disaster Preparedness Resources
Crisis Planning Guides
Communications Plan
http://nma.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Crisis-Communications-Template.pdf
Business Interruption Planning Resources
Get a Plan! - Building your Special Needs Emergency Plan is the first step in preparing for all types of disasters.
Emergency Financial Preparedness Toolkit
Individual and Family Resources
Disaster Supply Kit Checklist - www.floridadisaster.org/planprepare/hurricane-supply-checklist/
Preparation for Pet in a Disaster - Your pets are an important member of your family, so they need to be included in your family’s emergency plan. Here is information to prepare for your pets.
Business Recovery Resources
https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/node/43168
https://www.score.org/recovery/small-business-resilience
Other Recovery Resources
Small Business Recovery Guide by the US Chamber of Commerce.
Florida Emergency Management Division - Website provides a list of various federal agencies with programs to help you recover from disasters.
U.S. Small Business Administration - SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes to repair or replace damaged or destroyed business assets (property, equipment, inventory, etc.)
U.S. Economic Development Administration - EDA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have funds to be used for establishing local, post-disaster revolving loan programs.
IRS - Offers tax relief to businesses affected by federally declared disasters.
DisasterAssistance.gov - Disaster Assistance Improvement Program’s mission is to provide disaster survivors with information, support, services and a mechanism to access and apply for disaster assistance through collaborative, data-sharing efforts between federal, tribal, state, local and private sector partners.
RestoreYourEconomy.org - Provides resources and best practice information for public and private stakeholders who are seeking to rebuild their local economies after an economic disruption, be it a natural disaster or man-made crisis, as well as assisting the business community in preparing for a disruption.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Help Desk for Business - 1-888-MY-BIZ-HELP (888-692-4943) - Contact for help navigating FEMA, SBA and other assistance programs, and you can also contact them for information about recovery best practices.
http://nma.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Crisis-Communications-Template.pdf
Business Interruption Planning Resources
Get a Plan! - Building your Special Needs Emergency Plan is the first step in preparing for all types of disasters.
Emergency Financial Preparedness Toolkit
Individual and Family Resources
Disaster Supply Kit Checklist - www.floridadisaster.org/planprepare/hurricane-supply-checklist/
Preparation for Pet in a Disaster - Your pets are an important member of your family, so they need to be included in your family’s emergency plan. Here is information to prepare for your pets.
Business Recovery Resources
https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/node/43168
https://www.score.org/recovery/small-business-resilience
Other Recovery Resources
Small Business Recovery Guide by the US Chamber of Commerce.
Florida Emergency Management Division - Website provides a list of various federal agencies with programs to help you recover from disasters.
U.S. Small Business Administration - SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes to repair or replace damaged or destroyed business assets (property, equipment, inventory, etc.)
U.S. Economic Development Administration - EDA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have funds to be used for establishing local, post-disaster revolving loan programs.
IRS - Offers tax relief to businesses affected by federally declared disasters.
DisasterAssistance.gov - Disaster Assistance Improvement Program’s mission is to provide disaster survivors with information, support, services and a mechanism to access and apply for disaster assistance through collaborative, data-sharing efforts between federal, tribal, state, local and private sector partners.
RestoreYourEconomy.org - Provides resources and best practice information for public and private stakeholders who are seeking to rebuild their local economies after an economic disruption, be it a natural disaster or man-made crisis, as well as assisting the business community in preparing for a disruption.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Help Desk for Business - 1-888-MY-BIZ-HELP (888-692-4943) - Contact for help navigating FEMA, SBA and other assistance programs, and you can also contact them for information about recovery best practices.
Hurricane Preparedness
Phone Apps to Assist in Disasters
Emergency Alerts
Set your phone up for emergency alerts.
iPhone
FEMA App - The FEMA App allows you to receive real-time weather alerts, send notifications to loved ones, locate emergency shelters in your area, and more.
City of Key West Civic Ready - The City of Key West has launched a mass notification solution powered by CivicReady. This solution is intended to be used to provide you with critical information quickly in a variety of situations, such as severe weather, road closures, king tide flooding, evacuations, etc., that may have significant impacts to residents.
Monroe County Alert Center - Alert Center allows you to view all alerts and emergencies in your area. If there are alerts or emergencies, they will be listed below by category. To be instantly notified of alerts and emergencies subscribe to Notify Me or RSS.
Forecasting
National Weather Service - Provides information on weather specific to the Florida Keys.
National Hurricane Center
American Red Cross Hurricane App - If you or your loved ones live where hurricanes can occur, you need this app. The FREE Hurricane app puts the information you need to prepare for, and recover from, these dangerous storms. Monitor hurricane conditions in your local area and throughout the storm track.
Weather Underground - The most hyper-local weather data wherever you are in the world.
Travel
Waze - App that notifies you of traffic slowdowns, closures and issues regarding traffic.
Gas Buddy - Assists in finding area gas stations.
Re-Entry
Following a hurricane evacuation, start with these steps:
Your Employees
U.S. Department of Labor - The Department of Labor provides information regarding your businesses obligations and your employees. Click on the Natural Disaster Compliance Assistance Toolkit for information: Natural Disaster Compliance Assistance Toolkit | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)
Insurance
How to File an Insurance Claim After a Hurricane - Hurricanes are devastating. If you’re a home or business owner whose property has been affected by a hurricane or other disaster, here are some tips on how to file an insurance claim.
What to Expect After you File an Insurance Claim - What actually happens when the adjuster comes? What damages can you expect to have covered? What happens if the payout offer is too low?
Hiring a Contractor
Contractor Fraud Checklist - Contractor fraud often increases after natural disasters. This simple form will help ensure that disaster impacted communities recover from disaster in a prompt, efficient and predictable way.
Before hiring a contractor, always check their license status with the FL Dept of Business and Professional Regulations.
Communications After a Business Interruption
Using Telephone Lines Efficiently After a Disaster
Emergency Alerts
Set your phone up for emergency alerts.
iPhone
- Open the Settings app on your phone.
- Select Notifications and scroll down to the bottom of the menu.
- Select Government Alerts and toggle the switches to select the alerts you would like to receive.
- Open your phone’s Settings menu.
- Select Apps and Notifications.
- Select Emergency Alerts. On some phones you might have to tap Advanced to expand the menu and show the Emergency Alerts button.
- In the Emergency Alerts menu, you can toggle the switches to select which alerts you would like to receive.
FEMA App - The FEMA App allows you to receive real-time weather alerts, send notifications to loved ones, locate emergency shelters in your area, and more.
City of Key West Civic Ready - The City of Key West has launched a mass notification solution powered by CivicReady. This solution is intended to be used to provide you with critical information quickly in a variety of situations, such as severe weather, road closures, king tide flooding, evacuations, etc., that may have significant impacts to residents.
Monroe County Alert Center - Alert Center allows you to view all alerts and emergencies in your area. If there are alerts or emergencies, they will be listed below by category. To be instantly notified of alerts and emergencies subscribe to Notify Me or RSS.
Forecasting
National Weather Service - Provides information on weather specific to the Florida Keys.
National Hurricane Center
American Red Cross Hurricane App - If you or your loved ones live where hurricanes can occur, you need this app. The FREE Hurricane app puts the information you need to prepare for, and recover from, these dangerous storms. Monitor hurricane conditions in your local area and throughout the storm track.
Weather Underground - The most hyper-local weather data wherever you are in the world.
Travel
Waze - App that notifies you of traffic slowdowns, closures and issues regarding traffic.
Gas Buddy - Assists in finding area gas stations.
Re-Entry
Following a hurricane evacuation, start with these steps:
- Ensure all of your employees are safe.
- Perform a damage assessment of your property as soon as you can safely get to it.
- If your building is damaged, check with your insurance company before doing any repairs. Be sure to document with pictures and video all of the damage done to your inventory, equipment and building.
Your Employees
U.S. Department of Labor - The Department of Labor provides information regarding your businesses obligations and your employees. Click on the Natural Disaster Compliance Assistance Toolkit for information: Natural Disaster Compliance Assistance Toolkit | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov)
Insurance
How to File an Insurance Claim After a Hurricane - Hurricanes are devastating. If you’re a home or business owner whose property has been affected by a hurricane or other disaster, here are some tips on how to file an insurance claim.
What to Expect After you File an Insurance Claim - What actually happens when the adjuster comes? What damages can you expect to have covered? What happens if the payout offer is too low?
Hiring a Contractor
Contractor Fraud Checklist - Contractor fraud often increases after natural disasters. This simple form will help ensure that disaster impacted communities recover from disaster in a prompt, efficient and predictable way.
Before hiring a contractor, always check their license status with the FL Dept of Business and Professional Regulations.
Communications After a Business Interruption
Using Telephone Lines Efficiently After a Disaster
Hurricane Recovery
The Disaster Help Desk: Was your business impacted by a hurricane, or are you looking to provide aid? The Disaster Help Desk is here to help you.
State Assistance
SBDC - FIU Disaster Assistance
Federal Assistance
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
State Assistance
SBDC - FIU Disaster Assistance
Federal Assistance
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
