Business Preparedness Resources

Florida’s Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center Flyer: The purpose of ESF 18 is to share information and coordinate emergency management activities with a diverse array of stakeholders. 

Private Sector Emergency Response Information: Information on re-entry into disaster areas, waivers and ESF 18 contact information. 

Steps to Prepare Your Business: Taking the steps to build a business continuity plan, as well as encouraging your employees to create a family emergency plan, can reduce the financial and physical impact on your business. It is important to consider how a disaster could affect your employees, customers, and workplace.

Florida SBDC Network: The Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network provides tools, training and resources to help small businesses grow and succeed including disaster preparedness, response and recovery. The Florida SBDC Network has more than 40 offices from Pensacola to Key West to serve the needs of Florida’s business community.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Resilience in a Box: Developed in partnership with The UPS Foundation, Resilience in a Box is based on best practices and designed to educate newcomers on business resilience.  These resources will guide companies toward addressing preparedness issues while building in flexibility to handle potential business interruptions.

Open for Business-EZ Toolkit: The Open for Business-EZ toolkit helps small businesses take important steps they need to keep functioning in the event of a major disaster or even a small disruption. The goal is to continue to perform the most critical operations, which will help reduce short- and long-term losses to your bottom line.

FEMA Ready Business: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created the Ready Business website to assist businesses in dealing with a variety of hazards: natural hazards like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes; health hazards such as widespread and serious illnesses like the flu; human-caused hazards including accidents and acts of violence; and technology-related hazards like power outages and equipment failure.  The Ready Business program helps business leaders make a preparedness plan to get ready for these hazards.

FEMA National Risk Index Map: The FEMA National Risk Index is a dataset and online tool to help illustrate the U.S communities most at risk for natural hazards. The Index leverages available source data for 18 natural hazards, social vulnerability, and community resilience to develop a baseline relative risk measurement for each U.S county and Census tract.

SBA Emergency Preparedness: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers an emergency preparedness website with tools to assess your business for risk, create a business continuity plan, and learn about the low-interest disaster recovery loans offered by the SBA.

Tampa Bay Business Continuity Planning: The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council offers a free presentation that examines the economic impact of a disaster on small businesses and discusses useful practices that organizations can implement to help prepare for a disaster event. An overview of business continuity planning and steps to recovery are also explored.