Change Your Climate: How to prevent wind and flood from interrupting your business
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Transcript of Change Your Climate: How to prevent wind and flood from interrupting your business
How to prevent wind and flood from interrupting your business
Dr. Louis GritzoVice President, ResearchFM Global
December 10, 2014
1980-2012: 123 U.S. weather-related disasters ($1 billion per event)
2011: $52 billion
By 2050: $1 trillion a year in potential flood damage in major coastal cities
7 steps to help your company be prepared and resilient when strong winds and floods threaten your business.
6 Protect openings
1 Know your risk
2 Know what’s covered
3 Design to minimize risk
4 Keep critical services operable
5 Relocate key equipment and valuables 7
Have a solid plan and implement it
To make the right decisions, you must understand the hazard and your specific vulnerabilities.
If you are exposed, flood depth and wind-speed become critical.
Is your site prone to severe wind events?
Are you in a flood zone?
1-in-100 chance of happening every year
“100-year flood”
• Know your coverage limitations
• Not all policies include flood
• Is the policy aligned with the risk?
• Talk to your insurer• Take a policy workshop
Post-natural disaster, many businesses suffer massive losses and are surprised to learn they have limited or no coverage.
The best thing you can do is avoid the hazard altogether.
Reality: Avoiding areas prone to natural hazards may be impossible.
But you can protect your facility through proper design.
An example of designing to minimize risk is elevating a building’s ground level from a surrounding area that is susceptible to floods.
Electrical Alarm HVAC Water Telecommunication Back-up systems
• Locate utilities above expected flood level
• Elevate equipment to upper floors
• Isolate and/or barricade rooms
You need to know what you can’t afford to lose,then…Take action to protect your assets.
Common pathways for rain to enter a building are through broken windows and failed dock doors
• Remove loose rocks from roof tops
• Replace glass with laminated glass
• Install secured window film on interior
• Protect windows with shutters or plywood
• Use wind-rated doors • Install temporary
bracing prior to storm
Post-incident: “This can never happen again.”
Flood Barriers
nationalfloodbarrier.org
A solid plan reduces impact and speeds recovery.$0
$500,000
$1,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,000,000
$2,500,000
$3,000,000
$3,500,000
Weak practices Strong practices
Average loss in US dollars
• Understand exposures• Ensure reliable warning
methods• Establish emergency
actions
Form your FERP
• Know what resources will be needed
• Train, test and practice• Develop contingency
plans
Follow your FERP
6 Protect openings
1 Know your risk
2 Know what’s covered
3 Design to minimize risk
4 Keep critical services operable
5 Relocate key equipment and valuables 7
Have a solid plan and implement it
• There always will be natural hazards.• Many organizations are not prepared for disasters.• 7 straightforward steps can make all the difference.
WHEN YOU’RE RESILIENT, YOU’RE IN BUSINESS.