Protecting Your Business from Natural Disasters

By Adam Walters | 10/22/2024 | 3 min read

If you are not prepared for them, natural disasters can destroy your company. They can destroy your office, and your client files, and set you on what feels like a Sisyphean task of resurrecting your firm from the rubble.

Find out more about the impact natural disasters make on businesses like yours, and how IRIS can help protect your firm so that even after a large natural disaster, you can have the tools and resources you need to keep your business alive and thriving.

How Much Do Natural Disasters Cost?

In 2022, there were 18 natural disasters that caused $20 billion in damages, for a total of $400 billion. Floods, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, and landslides affect everyone, but 1 out of 10 small businesses report that they were affected by a natural disaster, and out of those affected in the past year 69% of them reported they were struggling financially.

The impact of natural disasters is long-lasting. Just because the flood waters have receded or the fires are finally put out, does not mean that the impact of natural disasters isn’t influencing local businesses. The local economy in areas that are affected by natural disasters are shattered, because people are focusing on the basic essentials of making sure they have a home to live in and food to eat. The economy changed its focus to recovery and rebuilding, which means that small businesses that aren’t actively involved with recovery are often overlooked or forgotten.
The 2024 Hurricane season has shown this long-lasting ripple effect on the economy. The initial cost of a single hurricane is $22.8 billion, but the economic aftershocks can lead to further losses costing as much as $9.8 billion per hurricane, with most of that financial burden being placed on families and small businesses.

Who Needs to Prepare for Natural Disasters?

It’s common for people to look away from the potential disasters in their own area, and choose to instead focus on remote disasters. They think they don’t need to worry about natural disasters because they don’t live in a volcanically active area, or in the path of hurricanes, so why do they need to worry?

The fact is, every company should be concerned about natural disasters because nowhere is completely safe. There are some obvious risks, like hurricanes in Florida, or tornados in the Great Planes, but there are potential natural disasters everywhere. Everything from blizzards to heat waves is a growing threat, and even if you’re not near a natural wildfire, you are still at risk of being affected by a residential fire with over 350,000 urban fires each year.
Natural disasters are increasing in frequency with 2023 having the most natural disasters ever recorded. They are a potential risk to everyone. Every company needs to prepare and think about natural disasters, not just those in the direct obvious path.

How Can Your Firm Prepare for Natural Disasters?

For most small and medium-sized businesses, your budget is tight. When natural disasters hit, they put your company temporarily out of business, and each day you’re not working is a day you are losing revenue. The best thing you can do to help your company is to make it easy for everyone to get back to work as quickly as possible after a natural disaster.

IRIS’s Document Management Solutions help you recover from a natural disaster by creating a digital database for your documents and files. Even if your office is damaged or destroyed, we make sure that your files are accessible so the work can go on. With IRIS, you’re not watching your company hemorrhage potential capital as you sit and wait to rebuild; you’re able to jump back into work as quickly as possible.

Get started today and see the difference IRIS can make on your firm, helping you prepare for natural disasters and the growth of your company.