FLOOD05331 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Figure 3.3 Damages to the infrastmctllre - inelllding the trans- porlation ~)'stem - callsed delays in business resumption. This cement plallt in Lenoir Count)' was shllt down for two weeks. 42 suppliers of businesses are affected. Employees cannot get to work. Critical supplies and part' cannot reach the husiness, Products cannot be distributed, Customers are affected, In many cases, a chain reaction or ripple effect occurs, and husinesses that are not even in the physically danJaged area may be affected by the interruptions. A business risk reduction initiative should address direct impacts (cost of repair and replacement of danlaged and destroyed buildings, loss of building inventory, cost of damage to building contents) and indirect economic impacts of a natural disaster, Business risk reduction should be an integral feature of a community-based program that addresses all hazards. As clearly demonstrated in the response and recovery phases of Hurricaoe Floyd, the ability of businesses to resume operations often depends on a complex host of factors that are external to the company's internal operations: availability of electric power, availability of water and sewer ser.ice, ability to gain access to the business, availability of telephone service, and the general welfare of the employees. Business risk reduction needs to be undertaken from a community and even regionai perspective. There is a high degree of interdependency between government and business decision-makers; that is, decisions made in one sector directly affeclthe other sector. Government decisions and priorities in response, restoration and recovery phases have direct implications for business resumption strategies. Conversely, the ability of business to resume operations in a timely manner has enormous implications for community recovery, short- tenn and long-tenn, Any loss of employment caused by damage to a business, and suhsequent reduction in production or closure, will reduce the personal income of the impacted community thereby reducing nonnal household expenditures. Tltis will result in a loss of revenue for the community. Business and govenunent are interconnected and interdependent. Risk reduction slrategies for both sectors sbould be community-based, coordinated and integrated, The next section highlights an initiative undertaken by Mecklenburg County to develop a "flood audit" of flood-prone businesses as pan of a hroader effort to stimulate business risk reduction practices in this community.