Preparing for Floods: Steps to Protect your Company

Flooding is one of the most common and costly natural disasters in Australia. While flood insurance is critical for mitigating damages, it only covers a portion of the costs associated with floods. This is why it’s so important for companies to take steps to protect themselves from flooding

In this blog post, we’ll outline some of the most important steps you can take to protect your company from flood damage. By following these steps, you can help ensure that your business is prepared for flood events that may occur.

Understand Your Risk

The first step in protecting your company from flooding is understanding your risk. Not all businesses are equally at risk for flooding, and it’s important to assess your particular risks before taking any steps to mitigate them. Some factors that will affect your risk include:

• Your location: Are you located in a floodplain? Do you live in an area with a high water table? These factors will increase your risk of flooding.
• Your industry: Certain industries, such as construction, agriculture, and manufacturing, are more likely to be impacted by floods than others. If your business falls into one of these industries, you will need to take extra precautions
• Your business type: Businesses that store large amounts of inventory or that have critical infrastructure located in basements or lower levels are at a higher risk for flooding than businesses that don’t have these factors
• Your history: Have you experienced flooding at your current location? If so, you’re more likely to experience it again and should take extra steps to protect yourself

Once you’ve assessed your risks, you can begin taking steps to mitigate them.

Develop a Flood Response Plan

The next step is developing a flood response plan. This plan should outline all the steps you need to take in order to protect your business in the event of a flood. Some things to consider including in your plan are:

• Contact information for key personnel: In the event of a flood, you’ll need to be able to reach key members of your team quickly and easily. Include contact information for everyone who needs to be involved in the response, including their names, phone numbers, and email addresses
• Steps for protecting inventory and equipment: What will you do with your inventory and equipment if they’re at risk of being damaged by floods? Will you move them to higher ground? Store them offsite? Include these steps in your plan so that everyone knows what needs to be done ahead of time
• A communication plan: In the event of a flood, you’ll need to be able to communicate with employees, customers, suppliers, etc., quickly and easily. Make sure everyone knows who needs to be contacted and how (phone, email, text message) ahead of time so that there’s no confusion during a crisis situation

Invest in Flood Protection Measures

There are several measures you can take to protect your business from floods; which ones make sense for your business will depend on a variety of factors including your budget and the level of risk you face. Some measures you may want to consider include

• Elevating critical equipment and inventory: If possible, elevate any critical equipment or inventory above the anticipated water level so that it’s less likely to be damaged by floodwaters
• Installing backflow preventers: Backflow preventers help keep water from flowing back into your building through drains or toilets during a flood event; this can help prevent significant water damage inside your business premises.
• Building levees or berms: Levees or berms can help keep floodwaters away from your building; however, they need to be designed and built properly in order for them to be effective . You should consult with an engineer before taking this step.
• Relocating critical infrastructure: If possible , relocate any critical infrastructure , such as electrical panels , boilers , etc . , out of basements or lower levels where they’re more likely to be damaged by floodwaters.

Purchase Flood Insurance

The final step in protecting your company from floods is purchasing flood insurance. Even if you take all the necessary precautions, there’s always a chance that flood damage could occur; having insurance will help ensure that you’re able to recover financially if this happens.

Purchasing flood insurance may be difficult in some areas and for some classes of insurance. The team at Steadfast Eastern insurance brokers can utilise their experience to negotiate with insurers on your behalf to find a suitable solution.

Don’t wait until a flood is imminent; talk to us sooner than later!