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Home / Washington Business - September/October 2005 / A Wakeup Call for Disaster Preparedness |
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A Wakeup Call for Disaster Preparedness |
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Written On: September/October 2005 |
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Written By: by Alexis Nepomuceno |
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The impact of Hurricane Katrina has already rippled across the United States. Higher energy prices and the psychological impact among consumers will carry well into 2006. However, imagine what life in Washington would be like if it immediately lost one-third of its economy. This is what happened to Louisiana and Mississippi.
According to Risk Management Solutions of Newark, Calif., the amount of damage caused by the hurricane will likely exceed $100 billion with only one-fourth covered by insurance. The region immediately lost up to 500,000 jobs and a major city will have to go without water and power for several months. The idea that something of such magnitude could happen in the Pacific Northwest is almost unconscionable, until one realizes that the state is equally prone to catastrophes of a different nature — volcanoes and earthquakes.
As Washington lawmakers debate over where transportation dollars are to be spent, and most citizens contend with longer commute times, major highways throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are damaged or completely destroyed.
For many businesses in the Gulf Coast region, worrying about the bottom line is a missed luxury when no bottom line exists. More than 110,000 businesses have been destroyed or seriously damaged in Louisiana alone, according to Louisiana Small Business Development Centers. Most retails shops in New Orleans are flooded and the remaining companies are stuck without water, power and a transportation infrastructure.
Fortunately, companies filled the gaps that government assistance couldn’t cover. For instance, this story from the Financial Times provides an example of how industrious private industry can be during times of crisis:
"The giant Wal-Mart superstore in D’Iberville, Miss., has been open since the day after the storm — testimony that corporate America proved quicker to respond to the disaster than the government. In the days after Katrina, Wal-Mart trucks carrying emergency supplies for their stores appeared more plentiful than disaster relief vehicles on the roads heading south into Mississippi. For most of last week, the D’Iberville Wal-Mart operated without electricity. Members of staff accompanied each customer around the store to make a list of the products bought, tallying the total using calculators. People queued for hours."
AWB President Don Brunell has been in contact with the heads of the state chambers and manufacturer associations located in the areas affected by Katrina and has asked how AWB and its members can help. The groups are currently working on forming a small business disaster relief fund, but nothing formal has been set up yet. In the meantime, organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army are already actively providing assistance to families across the devastated region.
As a business community, now is the time for the "community" part to come to the fore. The inspiring example set forth by Wal-Mart and other businesses in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama accentuates the vital role the private sector plays in a region’s economy and way of life. To contribute, go to:
www.redcross.org
(1-800-HELP-NOW)
www.salvationarmyusa.org
(1-800-SAL-ARMY)
Be sure to also check out www.awb.org of updates on any organized disaster relief efforts.
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