As Hurricane Irene bears down on the East Coast, weather predictions show landfall near the Outer Banks, North Carolina, this weekend and New England at the start of next week. But the time is now for businesses and individuals along the entire Eastern seaboard to prepare for the potential damaging effects of the storm.

Inland areas are not immune to the risks associated with hurricanes, one U.S. Chamber expert says. The majority of fatalities from hurricanes occur from inland flooding, and more than half of landfall hurricanes produce tornadoes.

The statistics about small businesses and disasters are alarming. Our recent blog post reported that one in four small businesses will experience a major, disruptive disaster and 43% of those without an emergency plan won’t re-open.

Every business owner can take very simple steps to help avoid loss, damage, and disruption.

These steps include: boarding windows, backing up data and storing it off site, moving inventory and records to high ground, buying a generator and NOAA weather radio, talking to suppliers about their plans and arranging back-up suppliers, having batteries and flashlights, and communicating regularly with employees and customers.

The U.S. Chamber BCLC offers access to several tools that will help businesses of all sizes prepare for Hurricane Irene – and other disaster threats this hurricane season and in the future. They are:

National Disaster Help Desk for Business, made possible by the Office Depot Foundation: Before, during, and after disasters, the Help Desk provides fast and reliable coordination of information among businesses, local chambers, disaster responders, and donors. Advice about preparedness and post-disaster recovery resources is available. 

Disaster Resistant Business Toolkit: A simple software tool created by a nonprofit working group of business continuity, emergency management, planning, and training experts from the public and private sectors to assist small to midsize businesses and nonprofits with building their disaster plans 

Articles, Tips, and Research, including:

• Recommendations for Business Disaster Aid Planners (PDF)
• 5 Small Business Disaster Preparedness Tips
• Online Disaster Management Toolbox
• Congressional Testimony, “The Next Big Disaster: Is the Private Sector Prepared?”

By the way, to always get the latest information we have available, join the Help Desk for Business community on Facebook and Twitter.

[Cross-posted at BCLC Blog.]

[Image via NOAA.]