Mount Pleasant offers hurricane prep, disaster tips for businesses

Listen to this article

Every year around this time, South Carolina residents take a deep breath and step into hurricane season, which officially begins June 1 and lasts through Nov. 30.

While each storm typically allows a few days to prepare, the decision to evacuate can often come last minute for homeowners and businesses. That’s why business owners, and Lowcountry residents in general, are being urged to prepare ahead of time by creating an efficient plan, performing inventory and gathering important documents, ready to be grabbed at a moment’s notice.

As part of 2021 National Hurricane Preparedness Week, the town of Mount Pleasant has compiled expert planning and preparedness tips that Mayor Will Haynie said could be crucial to a business’ recovery after a hurricane.

“Each year, the town prepares and drills for emergencies,” he said. “We urge our businesses to join us and adopt a customized emergency plan to ensure employee and customer safety and minimize property damage.”

Some tips to consider when preparing for hurricane season:

• Employers should have a business continuity plan in place.
• Gather contacts that are crucial to business operations and save this information in an alternate, accessible off-site location.
• Have a plan in place if there is a loss in power. Companies should be prepared for longer-than-usual power outages.
• COVID-19 safety is still an issue, and businesses should have formalized procedures for protecting all workers during both response and restoration periods.
• Have an up-to-date inventory.
• Make sure employees know how to turn off utilities when necessary.

Emergency Manager Amanda Knight said that having an emergency response plan is critical.

“Now is time to review your existing plans in light of the significant challenges experienced by businesses during the ongoing pandemic,” she said. “Businesses should anticipate possible delays in recovery due to economic implications of the pandemic and challenged construction market.”