• Disaster Relief

  • Hurricane / Disaster Preparedness

    We know business owners put out proverbial fires on a daily basis--but what if your business really did experience a fire? What if your office flooded or a tornado struck your store? Would you be prepared? No one likes to think about such devastating circumstances but being proactive and developing a plan will help you bounce back quicker and sometimes even stronger. Follow these links to learn more on getting prepared:

    https://www.score.org/disaster-preparedness-recovery

    http://www.redcross.org/about-us/our-work/disaster-relief

    http://www.ccparkandrec.com/government/fire/emergency-management/index

    http://www.co.nueces.tx.us/emergency/

    Business Interruption Planning

    According to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, up to 25 percent of small businesses never reopen following a disaster. When disaster strikes, having a plan and being able to put it into immediate action can ensure that you’re back in business quickly and able to provide products and services to your customers, regardless of the type or scale of interruption.

    The resources on this page are intended to help Corpus Christi area businesses prepare for various types of crises and minimize the impact of those crises on their operations.

    • Before a Business Interruption - Build your long-term plan
    • After a Business Interruption - Rebuild your business
    • Hurricane Information - How to prepare before, during and after a hurricane
    • Members Providing Planning/Recovery Services – (list being created)
    • Severe Weather Updates - Get the latest weather updates from Nueces County and Corpus Christi Emergency Management.

    Build Your Plan

    Preparedness begins with creating a continuity plan that meets the needs of your business. We have provided basic guidelines to help businesses of any size develop a business continuity plan. The document contains templates you can use as you work through the process.

    For your convenience here are a couple of templates that you can use to get started:

    • Incident Action Plan
    • Crisis Communications Plan

     

    Business Interruption Planning Resources

    https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/disaster-preparedness-and-recovery-quick-guides/small-business-preparedness

    http://disastersafety.org/wp-content/uploads/OFB-EZ_Toolkit_IBHS.pdf

    Business Recovery Resources

    https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/node/43168

    Other Recovery Resources

    • U.S. Chamber of Commerce - Small Business Recovery Guide - When a disaster occurs, businesses must take care of their employees' needs, communicate the impact, address financial matters (e.g., insurance, disaster assistance), restore operations, and organize recovery.
    • S.C. Emergency Management Division - Website provides a list of various federal agencies with programs to help you recover from disasters.
    • U.S. Small Business Administration - SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes to repair or replace damaged or destroyed business assets (property, equipment, inventory, etc.)
    • LiftFund - Texas Small Business Rebuild Initiative (Hurricane Relief Support Programs for Small Business Owners)
    • U.S. Economic Development Administration  - EDA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have funds to be used for establishing local, post-disaster revolving loan programs. A list of federal agencies and their economic development-related programs provides more information.
    • IRS - Offers tax relief to businesses affected by federally declared disasters.
    • DisasterAssistance.gov - Disaster Assistance Improvement Program’s mission is to provide disaster survivors with information, support, services and a mechanism to access and apply for disaster assistance through collaborative, data-sharing efforts between federal, tribal, state, local and private sector partners.
    • RestoreYourEconomy.org - Provides resources and best practice information for public and private stakeholders who are seeking to rebuild their local economies after an economic disruption, be it a natural disaster or man-made crisis, as well as assisting the business community in preparing for a disruption.
    • U.S. Chamber of Commerce Help Desk for Business - 1-888-MY-BIZ-HELP (888-692-4943) - Contact for help navigate FEMA, SBA and other assistance programs, and you can also contact them for information about recovery best practices.

     

    Hurricanes

    Nueces County Hurricane Re-entry Plan - http://www.co.nueces.tx.us/emergency/pdf/reentry_plan.pdf

    http://www.co.nueces.tx.us/emergency/pdf/reentry_slideshow.pdf

    Nueces County Re-entry Request - http://www.co.nueces.tx.us/emergency/pdf/NC%20Hurricane%20Reentry%20Request%20Form%202016.pdf

    City of Corpus Christi Re-entry Request - http://www.ccparkandrec.com/Assets/ReadyCC/files/CorpusChristiHurricaneReentryRequest.pdf

    Re-Entry

    Following a hurricane evacuation start with these steps:

    • Check re-entry status for Nueces and Corpus Christi using links above
    • Ensure all of your employees are safe.
    • Do a damage assessment of your property as soon as you can safely get to it.
    • Send the Chamber your completed Post Emergency Business Survey 
    • If your building is damaged check with your insurance company before doing any repairs! Be sure to document with pictures and video all of the damage done to your inventory, equipment and building.

    Insurance

    How to File an Insurance Claim After a Hurricane - Hurricanes are devastating. If you’re a home or business owner whose property has been affected by a hurricane or other storm or disaster, here are some tips on how to file an insurance claim.

    What to Expect After you File an Insurance Claim - What actually happens when the adjuster comes? What damages can you expect to have covered? What happens if the payout offer is too low? 

    Hire a Contractor

    Contractor Fraud Checklist - Contractor fraud often increases after natural disasters. This simple form will help ensure that disaster impacted communities recover from disaster in a prompt, efficient and predictable way.

    If the county has implemented contractor certification, make sure that your chosen contractor has a County Certification picture ID that indicates they have applied for and received a county or city certification for construction after a disaster. 

    If the county has not implemented contractor certification then complete the contractor fraud form with your contractor and check their license status. 

    Communications After a Business Interruption

    Texting will often go through when calls won’t, try texting. 

    Because of how calls are routed from different area codes, a cell phone with an out of town area code will often work when other phones won’t. 

    Using Telephone Lines Efficiently After a Disaster - When you pick up the receiver, there's no dial tone. You will immediately think your phone is dead. Now what will you do? 

    Resources All Emergencies

    Members Providing Planning/Recovery Services - CCCC members providing products/services to help you prepare or recover from a disaster (Need to reach out to members and build a list)

    Nueces County Emergency Management - http://www.co.nueces.tx.us/emergency/

    City of Corpus Christi Emergency Management - http://www.cctexas.com/government/fire/emergency-management/index