Does it feel like it's flooding in your city more than it used to? You're not imagining things.
According to recent reports, the world's sea levels are rising right now due to global warming. As a result, almost 700 U.S. communities are going to be susceptible to repeated flooding by the time 2100 hits.
As a business owner, this should concern you. Floods could potentially do extensive damage to your building and ruin a lot of your inventory in the process if you're not careful.
It's important for you to learn how to prevent floods from ruining your business. By taking the right steps, you can ensure that a flood isn't able to wipe your business out and force you to either close up shop or start over again from scratch.
Check out some of the ways in which you can stop floods from wreaking havoc on your business below.
Assess the Flooding Risks in Your General Area
Before you start thinking about how to prevent floods from ruining your business, take the time to assess the flooding risks in your city to see how much potential trouble you could be in.
There are plenty of places in the heartland of America that don't flood very often. You might not have a whole lot to worry about when it comes to flooding depending on where your business is set up.
But there are also many places in coastal regions that are prone to flooding. You should see if your business is sitting in a flood zone at the moment and keep a close eye on the flooding risks that develop in your area.
By doing this, you'll be able to see whether or not you should be concerned about flooding in the first place. It's a great place for business owners to begin.
Prepare Your Building for the Possibility of Flooding
If you do the necessary research and find that your business is, in fact, in an area that could flood at any time, you'll want to spring into action right away. It's essential for you to prepare your building for the possibility of a flood, well before one is ever in the forecast.
There are a number of things you can do to prepare your business for potential floods. You can:
- Take a look at your basement, if you have one, and see if you can identify any entry points for water
- Re-grade the land that surrounds your building so that water flows away from it rather than towards it
- Install flood-proof doors that are designed to keep water out and prevent flooded buildings
- Put a sump pump into place that can stop minor flooding in its tracks
Figure Out the Safest Place to Store Inventory
If your business has a bunch of inventory on hand at any given moment, that inventory should not be stored in a place where it could end up getting wet during a flood.
You should steer clear of storing inventory in a basement where it might get soaked by floodwaters.
You should also be careful about putting it on the ground on the first floor of a building.
Ideally, you should have shelving units set up somewhere where you can keep all your inventory elevated. Unless flood waters inch towards the ceiling, this will stop water from coming into contact with your inventory.
Place Electronic Equipment on a Second Floor, If Possible
Does your company use computers, printers, copy machines, phones, and other electronic equipment to do business? All of these things can be damaged by floodwaters entering your building.
If you can swing it, it's best to take these items and set them up on the second floor of a building. This will pretty much guarantee that a flood isn't able to touch them.
You should also store any important business documents that you might have on a second floor or even in an attic space. It might be hard to save these documents if they get wet during a flood.
Come Up with a Flood Evacuation Plan
In the event that your business floods, you and your employees aren't going to want to hang around in it. Floodwaters are often filled with all kinds of toxins that you don't want to be near under any circumstances.
To prevent you and your employees from getting stuck in your building during a flood, you should create a flood evacuation plan that will allow everyone to escape. You should also come up with a plan for what items you're going to remove from your business during a flood to keep them safe.
Business owners will often grab some of the aforementioned documents on their way out of their business during a storm. It's the only way to ensure they'll ever see them again in some cases.
Invest in Commercial Flood Insurance
At the end of the day, you can do everything we mentioned here to prepare for a flood and still get hit hard by it. It could do a number on your business and put you into a tough spot.
You need to have a commercial flood insurance plan in place in case something goes wrong. Find out more about how this kind of insurance will work to protect your business.
Figuring Out How to Prevent Floods From Bludgeoning Your Business Is Important
Floods are, unfortunately, becoming more and more common in this day and age. There is no avoiding them in certain U.S. cities.
You can, however, learn how to prevent floods from ruining your business and take action against them. It could be the difference between your business surviving a flood and your business closing down for good in the aftermath of one.
Learn more about preparing your business for a natural disaster by reading through some of the other articles on our blog. Visit the Real Estate and Insurance sections of our site right now!
