Hurricane shows importance of planning for a disaster

We have been watching one of the greatest responses to a truly catastrophic event, Hurricane Katrina. Our government, the people and industry are doing everything they can to help the hurricane victims. I only wish we could do more in the future and I think we can.

President Bush says we must consider emergency planning a national security issue and I agree.

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What is troubling me is that we need to be sure this is an all-inclusive program. Many of our government leaders seem to think that the insurance industry, emergency management agencies and the government will always be enough to respond to disasters. This thinking is limiting and it is causing or creating many shortcomings in the response actions. We are seeing that the after-disaster response takes the involvement of everyone.

If these disasters continue, and they will, the insurance industry will fail, businesses will fail and government agencies will be further in debt. People will lose jobs and will not be earning incomes to pay the taxes that are used to run the government. Business will not be operating or paying taxes. Again, this means less money to run the government.

Planning and pre-disaster education are required at all levels.

My only agenda is to encourage us, as a nation, to take immediate action on developing a truly national disaster response strategy.

Business-recovery planners have many answers for these pre-disaster and post-disaster strategies. Many of us know how to do this, but we need help. We need our lawmakers, media and industry leaders to work together.

Important information needs to be added to President Bush's plan:

n A great deal of funding for disaster response, FEMA and other programs has been severely cut, and we need to reconstitute these programs.

n During the last year we have been working with the American Red Cross Badger Chapter in Madison, Dane County Emergency Management and area businesses to develop stronger disaster planning for our community. That program must continue for all counties and cities.

n The Business Recovery Plan-ners Association, consisting of business and public disaster recovery planners in southern Wisconsin, has been working on programs to strengthen the public/private-sector relationships. This program must be strengthened and promoted.

n Studies show that 50 percent to 70 percent of the businesses that go through a major disaster are out of business in less than three years. That means jobs, careers and taxes are eliminated. We are seeing this today in the Gulf and we will see more businesses failing. We need to take action now. Safeguards and emergency plans are needed in every government agency, office and home.

I have compiled a list of disaster response checkpoints, and they should be included in every office and home.

Here are some of the keys:

Training: To get started, you have to know the scope and issues related to the discipline. Several public and private training and certification programs are available. The American Red Cross and the Disaster Recovery Institute International in Falls Church, Va., have offerings and certification programs. Some private companies offer training for staff.

Safety: Evacuation plans for the masses, programs like Shelter-In-Place, fire drills, severe storm drills, terrorist response planning and a host of other plans save lives. First-aid training and having CPR-trained employees is important. These are the first steps in a disaster response plan.

Security: Both physical and data security systems need to be installed and special post-disaster security needs to be addressed. A tornado, for example, could scatter documents. With all the legislation and requirements for data privacy, this could become an issue. Post-disaster theft of equipment, files and materials could be become a significant problem if the windows and doors are gone and not protected.

Data and computer recovery: Many businesses and individuals safeguard data by placing it in a secured off-site location. Several companies have specific plans and procedures for recovery at a remote data center. These steps are very important. However, phones need to be recovered and rerouted, and there could be network connectivity issues.

Facility plans: All facilities need to be managed both before and after a disaster. Specific maintenance schedules must be monitored, risk-management concerns must be addressed and post-disaster mitigation actions must be planned.

Vital records management: Not all records are needed to recover from a disaster. Selecting certain records for protection saves time and could save your company or your family a lot of frustration and money. It's very important to have off-site copies of contracts, deeds, insurance documents, agreements, money management practices and tax documents.

Response procedures and resources: You can't just sit on the curb after a disaster and hope someone will help you. Defined procedures for mitigation, insurance, contractors, relocation options, building security and many other actions must be stated in writing and ready to use at a moment's notice.

Public/private relationships: Working with and understanding the processes of various governmental agencies is extremely important. Knowing prior to a disaster what they will do for you, how they will help and provide information is a key element in the recovery process. Re-establishing your business operations will be up to you, especially during the first few days after a major disaster.

Testing and updating: We need to conduct tests similar to the one that our community conducted Aug. 27, 1997. Our community conducted a test that involved FEMA, the American Red Cross, local hospitals, schools, business, media, and police and fire departments from several communities, and others.