Disaster Is Inevitable. Is Your Business Ready to Survive?
Summary
Extreme weather and large-scale disasters are becoming routine, hitting places and businesses that once felt safe. The article outlines the expanding geographical reach of floods, fires and storms and explains why small businesses are especially vulnerable. It uses recent examples — from inland tropical-storm damage in Chapel Hill to devastating floods in Asheville and widespread wildfires in Los Angeles — to show how quickly revenue and local economies can collapse.
The piece then sets out practical steps businesses should take to improve resilience: anticipate coverage gaps (flood insurance and business-interruption limits), act fast in the first 72 hours to preserve claims evidence, secure financial lifelines, increase operational agility and build strong community and institutional networks to support recovery.
Key Points
- Disasters are no longer confined to historical risk zones — storms, floods and wildfires are striking new areas and urban centres.
- About 25% of businesses in disaster zones never reopen; those that do often face prolonged revenue losses.
- Insurance gaps are common: flood, earthquake and catastrophic-event coverage often require separate policies and waiting periods.
- Immediate action in the first 72 hours (photographing damage, contacting insurers, securing premises) strongly affects recovery outcomes.
- Financial preparedness — emergency reserves, pre-approved credit and knowledge of SBA disaster loans or CDFIs — is critical to survive the short term.
- Operational agility (temporary locations, cloud backups, supplier diversification, cross-trained staff) and strong local networks speed recovery and improve long-term resilience.
Author style
Punchy and direct: the author doesn’t sugarcoat the risk. The piece is written for leaders who need clear, actionable steps — not academic theory — and it insists preparation separates survivors from failures. If you run a business, the detail here matters.
Why should I read this?
Look — disasters aren’t a once-in-a-blue-moon problem any more. If you manage a small or medium business, this short read gives you a practical checklist you can act on right away: check your insurance, digitise records, line up short-term finance and plan where you’ll operate if your premises are hit. It’s the sort of no-nonsense briefing that could stop a temporary shock becoming a permanent shutdown.
Source
Source: https://chiefexecutive.net/disaster-is-inevitable-is-your-business-ready-to-survive/