Challenges and Issues in Recovering from Hurricane Ian

Companies are required to take proactive actions against Hurricane Ian

Due to floods, power outages, and wind damage, major industries are forecasting supply chain disruptions that could halt manufacturing and farm operations as well as freight transportation through the major port, airport, highway, and rail nodes. There are enormous retail and e-commerce distribution centers along the Tampa to Orlando region. Large portions of Florida are anticipated to have protracted power disruptions due to Hurricane Ian's winds and flooding.

People are beginning to wonder in many disasters- and outage-prone locations whether investing in rooftop solar and battery storage systems can keep the lights on and the air conditioner running when the power grid can't since with batteries, a residence can detach from the grid. Solar energy has previously handled disasters. For example, Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast in August 2017 but continued inland to do significant damage throughout Texas. Even though it took a week or more for the power to be restored, the skies over Corpus Christi cleared. When the sky cleared, solar and storage would have been a great help, covering almost all of the energy requirements for a typical single-family home. As an example, California has more than 1.5 million rooftop solar systems. People are also constructing solar systems or retrofitting batteries on existing systems. Part of the reason why utilities have started using "public safety power shutoffs" is that more and more customers are upgrading their systems with batteries or installing new solar with storage.

There is a significant risk of damage and delays for marine terminals, manufacturers, and growers

There could be an impact on almost 2,000 businesses in the heavy machinery, chemicals, and aerospace, automotive, and heavy machinery sectors. Additionally, it is anticipated that medical device, pharmaceutical, and diagnostics companies will also suffer.

Technologies can be the major help!

Companies can use predictive software to analyze previous patterns to forecast future results by identifying trends and patterns.

Resilinc forecast that more than 4,000 factories, warehouses, and distribution facilities are in the expected storm zone by mapping customers' supply chains and providing early warning indicators of impending disruption. Companies that are present in other states are expected to face truck shortages in the upcoming days. The companies are expected to take around nine weeks to get back to normal times. The supply chain industry may get affected due to damage to equipment, buildings, or inventory.

In addition, 70% of the citrus grown in the US is grown in South Florida. Before oranges are collected, high gusts could knock them over, and flooding could occur in the fields. According to Everstream, as Ian advances north, it may also harm Southeast soybean, cotton, and tobacco crops. In addition, Everstream noted that power outages and high water are anticipated to snarl traffic on major roadways, including Interstates 4 and 75.

The operation of marine terminals has also been suspended. For instance, the big steel, fertilizer, and other non-containerized items handled at Seaport Manatee and Port Tampa Bay were both closed to allow for the security of equipment and the departure of vessels.

What measures were taken by businesses to gird themselves?

• About ten of Amazon.com Inc.'s fulfillment centers are located in Florida; as a result, some of these locations will experience a pause in business.
• Two offshore Gulf of Mexico platforms owned by Chevron Corp (CVX.N) has also had their employees withdrawn.
• In Bonita Springs, some businesses closed in anticipation of Hurricane Ian.
• Sandbags were filled by employees of the restaurant Doc's Beach House in Bonita Springs, Florida, to assist defend the building from Hurricane Ian.
• In Florida, more than 100 Walmart and Sam Clubs locations were shut down.
• At its Na Kika and Thunder Horse offshore production sites in the Gulf of Mexico, BP Plc (BP.L) evacuated staff and stopped operations on Monday.
• All of the shops' places with inside the direct line of the hurricane have brief closures or altered hours, in keeping with Target Corp (TGT.N)
• Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) will close its theme and water parks on Wednesday and Thursday, while some of its hotels in the state were set to be closed through Friday.
• Drugstore store Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O) stated Florida pharmacies can fill up medicines for a 30-day supply without permission from a medical doctor or different prescribers, besides inside the case of managed substances.
• Wealth supervisor Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF.N) stated its headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida could be closed on Wednesday and Thursday. In the meantime, the bank's places of work in Memphis, Southfield, and Denver could aid vital operations.
• Fertilizer maker Mosaic Co (MOS.N) stated all of its Florida places had been secured, with a few evacuated while minimum personnel continue to be at different sites.
• Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN.N), the most important U.S. meat business enterprise with the aid of using sales is making ready to set up a catastrophe remedy team
• Duke Energy is carefully tracking the approach of Hurricane Ian and making ready for capability effects inside the Carolinas in the coming days. The business enterprise urges clients to put it together as well.

What crisis management and recovery lessons should business leaders learn from this developing situation?

Crisis Management Response

Employers’ protection is to the maximum precedence of the employers. The employers have to ensure that their personnel right now evacuate if they stay in doubtlessly impacted locations.  For essential personnel who do now no longer evacuate, employers may also want to make sure that the right protection protocols are in location to guard against the chance of harm. This may also consist of making certain personnel operating in and around broken places of work are blanketed from unreasonable publicity to risks that can be present, along with slip and fall risks, electric exposures, or even exhaustion from operating extended shifts. Each department may find it useful to have persons assigned to manage and execute the continuation of business operations after a storm passes.  This may require pulling in employees and supervisors from other regions to assist the locations impacted by the natural disaster where the workforce may be dealing with personal issues in the wake of the storm.

An employer’s IT Department may also need to take steps to make sure that everyone's digital facts are subsidized up, preserved, and accessible.  To the volume possible, employers may also need to try and make sure that personnel who have the functionality of running remotely have to get admission to the guide they want to retain their paintings throughout the crisis.

Generate a crisis communication plan

Employees may also want to be frequently up to date thru a business enterprise’s website, intranet, web-primarily based phone apps, and/or different powerful verbal exchange structures concerning scheduling, resumption of operations, and worker help programs.

Company Management Teams may also want to offer everyday updates to senior control summarizing the current fame in their regions of duty and steps going ahead throughout and right away after a disaster occurs.

Customers/Clients may also want to be contacted and confident that operations are ongoing or briefly not on time with communications that encompass affordable estimates of restored operations.

Insurers may also want to acquire set off observation of any assets harm and/or interruption of enterprise that befell as a result of the event.

Civil and Regulatory Agencies may also want to be contacted concerning the fame of a business enterprise’s operations if it's miles in positively regulated industries.