Hurricane Planning In New Jersey
With the impending hurricane season upon us, it’s great to have a better understanding of how you can protect your business, community, and people in case of a natural disaster. One of the core philosophies at Hardenbergh Insurance Group is to “support the local community.” Here are a few highlights to help your business and municipalities in the event of a natural disaster.
Make a Plan
If we can learn anything from Hurricane Sandy back in 2012, is that you need to be alert and ready to make calculated decisions that are in the best interest of your business and people. Although it is difficult to predict how a natural disaster will impact a city, the plan that you create will be a template that you will be able to use for many years to come. Here are a few suggestions to add into your plan:
Define What a Category Means
You may hear these words on a routine basis throughout the news, but do you understand how powerful a Category One is, compared to a Category Four? By educating people on how fast each category is, it will allow your employees to visualize how devastating these winds truly are.
Category One – Winds 74-96 mph
Category Two – Winds 96-110 mph
Category Three – Winds 111-130 mph
Category Four – Winds 131-155 mph
Category Five – Winds greater than 155 mph
Evacuation Routes and Evacuation Centers
In the case of a natural disaster, giving your employees or city members options on where to go will increase the likelihood that they will be safe.
For reference, we decided to add a few New Jersey evacuation routes and centers to get acclimated with.
Emergency Communication Radio
With the growing trends in social media and mobile technology, we are accustomed to getting “alerts” when national events happen. For those who are more traditional and enjoy listening to their local news radio, here are a few stations to consider:
Emergency Red Cross
The Red Cross is one of the largest resources in disaster safety who work closely with victims and their family members. While you’re using the app, be sure to give access to your location so it can identify the closest evacuation center if needed. Take each quiz on both Android and iPhone to learn even more about natural disaster safety.
Life 360
Life360 allows you to keep track of your family in an emergency. The app sets up a personal network so you can send messages and share your location privately amongst your family. Click here to download the app for reference before using the app itself. iOS and Android.
Native Messaging App
With the recent update to iOS 10 on your iPhone, it has never been easier to communicate with your family members. Try using the Native Messaging app on your phone to test basic communication with your family.
Understand Your Flood Insurance Policy
Flood insurance is one of the most challenging insurance plans on the market and at Hardenbergh Insurance, we want to make sure that your policy is properly set up. A limited amount of coverage is necessary to make sure your facility and homes can be covered by a potential flood. Damage to your personal belongings, appliances, facility, and more may be covered with the right policy. Please contact your local insurance agency concerning the coverage, the rates, the deductibles and the exclusions of a flood
Understand The Best Form of Communication To Your Employees and Citizens
It’s important to have a consistent form of communication with your employees/city members. Adding evacuation routes onto your website, internal email newsletters, or social media platforms, will ensure safety for those affected by the disaster. Be sure to add each element of this plan into your form of communication. Giving your employees or city members options will instill confidence and increase safety for all that are affected.
If you would like to add onto this list, send us an email.
