I never thought it would happen to me. That’s what everyone says, right?
Until he did. My business took off last July. It was on a weekend where Chicago experienced record rainfall fueled by climate change, and that Sunday afternoon the skies really let loose. No children or staff were present at the childcare program that I operate from my home. It was lucky, because reports of widespread flooding on the west side of Chicago, where I live, were covering the news. So, I went downstairs to check things out.
What I saw shocked me and often replays in my head to this day. The floor was covered with water up to the ankles. And he was getting up fast. There was no time to turn on the sump pump, so I started grabbing things as fast as I could—nursery equipment, curriculum materials, rugs. In the midst of my frenzy, things turned from bad to worse.
My business records, placed in cardboard boxes on the floor, began to disintegrate before my eyes. The furniture had begun to float. I called my husband and he joined me in trying to salvage what we could. We soon realized that our freezer, washer, and dryer—all plugged in—were sitting in the same water we were wading through. So we decided to go upstairs and just let whatever happens happen. The water continued to rise, topping out about three meters.
Then everything stopped. There was a loud gurgling sound like you hear when you pull the plug out of a bathtub and the water drained. Time to survey the damage and pick up the pieces. There wasn’t much to catch. We threw away furniture, rugs, diapers, food, books, stuffed animals, blankets, crayons, coloring pages, and vital business and tax documents. All ruined.
Willingness pays off
It seems like every time I turn on the news, there’s a story about a historically bad flood, raging fire, or unprecedented storm that destroys a community that was never intended to. Currently, the remnants of Hurricane Debby are threatening “catastrophic flooding impacts” from the Carolinas to New England, according to the National Weather Service.
It is becoming abundantly clear: these and other severe weather events are affecting more people and places, while increasing in frequency and severity. The area where I live and work is not a traditional flood zone, so I didn’t feel I needed to invest in flood insurance. This meant I had no coverage for the event and was on the hook for everything.
Furthermore, the impact on my business was not felt by me alone. When my daycare couldn’t work, parents had to stay home with their children or try to find someone to watch them. This is easier for some than others. Many have to give up their daily wages to accommodate. It’s a reminder that weather-related disasters have downstream consequences beyond the physical damage they cause. When businesses go offline, it causes a ripple effect that significantly disrupts a community’s economy long after the storm has passed.
A recent study on the benefits of investing in disaster preparedness — from the US Chamber of Commerce, Allstate and the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation — details these downstream economic impacts for the first time. Their findings show that the financial benefits associated with investing in disaster preparedness are large; every $1 invested in disaster preparedness saves $13 in damage, cleanup and economic costs.
The priority of readiness in a small business
As a small business owner, I wish I had done more to prepare. Making those investments ahead of time would have saved me—and likely many who rely on my services—thousands of dollars and weeks of aggravation. I learned a lot from experiencing the floods and want to share this knowledge with other small business owners who may also be vulnerable. But if you’re like me, you might not know where to start.
Here are some things I wish I had known before the flood:
- Research grant programs. My situation could have been much worse if I hadn’t happened to run a grant program for small business owners offered by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation called the Sustainability Readiness Program. If small business owners complete a checklist of disaster preparedness steps, the program offers $5,000 in grants to those businesses if a disaster strikes their area. When we found ourselves in the difficult situation of trying to cover the costs associated with flooding and making payroll, all while suspending business operations, this grant proved to be a real lifesaver. I received word that my business had been awarded a grant and we used the money to pay our staff and make investments to ensure we were better prepared for a flood – or other weather-related disaster – in the future.
- Have a response plan. Make sure you have ready access to local emergency service numbers in case internet access goes down. Better yet, outline a personal restoration plan that you can activate after a severe weather event. Count everyone you might need to call: insurance, federal and state tax authorities, utility companies and service providers.
- Practice makes perfect. Don’t just have a plan on paper. Try it out. Conduct the drills with your staff if you are a business owner or family members if you are an individual. This will help uncover any gaps in your plan. Go through the list of people you need to contact after the event and designate who is responsible for the contact. Identify the immediate steps you will take after the crisis has passed. After these exercises, discuss ways you can improve your readiness.
- Back up your business data. Back up your physical data by uploading it to hard drives or the cloud. Redundancies are critical. Make sure you store your physical and digital data in two different places.
- Keep emergency kits close and easily accessible. Include things like land radios, non-perishable food, water, flashlights, blankets and batteries. Don’t assume that rescue will come quickly if you’re stranded during a disaster. Make sure you have the necessary supplies to keep you safe and comfortable until help arrives. In some cases, this can be hours or even days. Allstate’s Disaster Assistance Center offers advice on preparation, recovery and coverage by weather hazard.
- Build a rainy day fund. Calculate how much cash you need to have on hand to run your business and pay your employees for one to three months. If you don’t have enough funds to cover these costs now, start saving. Every little bit counts and could be the difference between keeping or losing your business.
The hardship I experienced is something I would not wish upon any business owner. But the unfortunate truth is that many are becoming vulnerable to this fate as extreme weather events become more common. Taking steps now can pay off in a big way if disaster strikes.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com reviews are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of wealth.
