Homeowners and business owners are taking crucial steps to be prepared when disaster strikes their property. Natural disasters can cause significant damage and disruption in your life but often don’t reach their full impact until after the event. Not having your home intact and functional is a considerable loss at any time, particularly considering how much work, effort, and money goes into making it what it is. So the process of rebuilding or restoring can be incredibly stressful and confusing. One thing that always helps is to have an expert on your side who can walk you through every step of the process, addressing all your needs along the way.
Assessing the Situation
Assess the damage. Turn off gas, electricity, and water if you believe it to be safe to do so. If you suspect your home is damaged, do not reenter until inspected by a professional. If you think someone is injured, help them or call 911 immediately.
Preparing is one of the crucial steps when disaster strikes your home or business.
Emergency Kit and Shelter
Assemble an emergency kit with enough supplies to last at least two weeks. It should include at least one gallon of water per day, meals that don’t need refrigeration and stovetop heating, batteries for radios and flashlights, cash, a first aid kit, tools to handle gas leaks, and other items specific to your circumstances.
If a disaster hits your area, you may need to stay with family or friends. FEMA and the Red Cross can help with basic food and shelter needs, including assistance with finding a temporary place to stay.
Disaster Recovery of Documents
Document retrieval is an essential step of your disaster recovery plan and can make a difference in how much time and money it takes to get back on track. As soon as possible after an emergency, retrieve your documents and irreplaceable memories in order so that you can have peace of mind moving forward.
Equipment and Data Preservation are Crucial Steps
If you’re lucky enough to have a disaster recovery plan in place and it remains in place after the storm, then your home or business should be able to survive. If your backup fails or your off-site facility is in a flood zone and unreachable, it could mean disaster for your property. If your records are backed up and stored at an off-site facility, take time now to inspect those records.
It’s no secret that following a disaster—mild or significant—it threatens your business continuity. But what happens with the data from your computer systems won’t just affect the efficiency of your business during recovery. It can also have long-lasting effects on your company should you fail altogether.
A rainy day fund is a crucial step when disaster strikes your home or business.
Clean Up After Disaster Strikes
Remember that negligence can be a significant expense. Please take steps to prevent flooding, including creating checklists for your team to follow as they clear and restore your property. Use insurance policies or government aid programs, if available, to replace your destroyed items without having to worry about the cost. Finally, face the inevitable expenses incurred after a natural disaster with a positive attitude and appreciation for the safety of your team.
Rainy Day Fund for Home and Business
As you face the physical, emotional, and financial costs of coping with a hurricane or storm, remember that this is also an excellent time to assess your long-term plans for dealing with these seasonal events. You should have a rainy day fund for this purpose— dealing with property damage and lost business income, not just the short-term costs of debris removal.
Hire Professionals to Restore Your Home and Business
The affected business space must be adequately cleaned and dried before resuming operations. Mold grows in dark, damp places like attics and basements that have no ventilation and little or no artificial heat. Allowing water to sit in any part of the building makes mold more likely to grow and spread, thus requiring a commercial mold cleanup specialist. Documentation, office equipment, and furniture in the affected areas may also need to be disinfected or removed if they are too damaged to salvage.
If you have had any mold damage in your building, you must contact your insurance company as soon as possible. While you may think this is a minor issue, mold can cause significant structural damage over time. Mold in your business could lead to structural collapse, triggering expensive lawsuits against your company.
When disaster strikes, you must ensure that your property becomes quickly restored. The team at OTM Restoration is available 24/7 to provide high-quality services for residential and commercial properties throughout the South Florida area. We actively work to minimize the effects of fire, smoke, and water damage on your property. Our certified technicians respond quickly to minimize damage and begin remediation.
On The Map Restoration provides professional restoration services for businesses throughout South Florida and the surrounding areas.
OTM Restoration Company Serving Businesses in Miami and All of Florida
On The Map Restoration is a full-service property restoration company serving the South Florida area. We specialize in fire and water damage restoration, mold removal, and reconstruction. Our highly trained team of professionals with years of experience dedicate their time to getting your home back in order as quickly as possible.
Our company headquarters is in Miami, Florida, but we offer services to clients throughout South Florida and beyond. If you’re experiencing any property damage or need help with business continuity, give us a call today!
If facing a business emergency, call us to receive a free quote (305) 671-3226 or contact us here.
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