Is Your Hays County Business Prepared for the Next Big Winter Storm?

12/20/2021 (Permalink)

Winter Storm Uri was an unexpected historical event that Texans spent months recovering from. Unfortunately, business owners suffered just as much, if not more. The amount of snow, freezing rain, and sub-zero temperatures that damaged their property either slowed down or put a complete halt to incoming foot traffic. 

Besides making sure you have the appropriate insurance for your facility, it is equally important to do the following steps:

Winterize 

• Cover your air-conditioning condenser unit.
• Clean out your gutters.
• Check the weather stripping around doors and windows.
• Replace any old, drafty windows. Use a door draft blocker to insulate entryways.
• Have your heating system checked by a professional.
• Replace your furnace filter.
• If you have a fireplace/chimney, have them cleaned.
• Clean dust or dirt from your air registers, dust ceiling fan blades, and bathroom fans, and clean out your dryer vents with a vacuum hose attachment.
• Insulate your water pipes.

Make an Emergency Kit for Each of Your Staff Members 

If your employees may have ended up stranded for an undetermined amount of time due to an unsafe weather situation, make kits in arms reach, like storing under their desks or put enough items per person in a centralized location to utilize needed.

It would be a good idea to leave a variety of food that people could eat at room temperature, plenty of bottled water, flashlights with batteries, power banks to charge cell phone devices, hand warmers, and fleece blankets to keep warm. Constantly remind employees of where the emergency kit is located so that if it is needed, they can easily access it.

Conduct Emergency Drills 

At SERVPRO of San Marcos/New Braunfels, we always acknowledge that September is Emergency Preparedness Month in hopes it will remind home and business owners to put various emergency plans into place if they have not already. Then it is best to continue practicing those plans several times throughout the year so that everyone can remember what needs to be done during weather emergency-related events.

The more your employees conduct emergency drills, the less they will panic if something occurs unexpectedly. 

Lastly, encourage employees to download weather alert apps if they do not already have them. The app could serve as an open line of communication between the incoming weather and currently going on during their shift.