Program Overview

A major disaster can pose significant challenges for non-profit organizations, schools, colleges and faith-based organizations. Even a minor disaster can interfere with your ability to operate, or require funding for repairs. There are steps your organization can take to be prepared. The information below can help you. You may want to take basic steps to prepare your organization. You may want to create a full-scale preparedness program. Either way, we’re here to help.

We encourage organizations to think of all the hazards they may face. Oregon has windstorms, wildfires, floods and winter storms. We have even seen tornados. It is expected that a major earthquake will occur. Cybercrime and other human-caused problems are also a danger to a wide range of organizations.

The physical damage from a full-scale Cascadia earthquake will primarily occur west of the Cascade Mountains. However, every area of Oregon will be impacted by the potential loss of fuel supplies and the unprecedented requirements for emergency response. Organizations need to be aware of the statewide impacts, and plan for how they will prepare and respond.

There are many variables that will affect the recovery of your business. The resources that may be available will depend upon the particular circumstances of your organization, including tax status. Talk to your emergency manager about the help that may be available in your area. (link to locals list)

Each disaster will require a different response. The planning you do will help you sort out what needs to happen. It will also help you communicate with clients, members, students, parents and your community with what they can expect from your organization in a disaster.

Non-profits, faith-based organizations, schools and colleges are often trusted by the community. In the case of a catastrophic disaster, the organizations that generally deal with emergencies (police, fire, hospitals, emergency managers, the Red Cross, etc.) will not be able to meet the surge in needs. Many people will reach out to trusted organizations for help. The extent to which your organization will be able to respond to these requests will be determined by the planning and preparation you do now.

Even if you haven’t been able to plan, the information below may help you decide what you need to do in the first two minutes, two hours, two days and two weeks following a disaster. While some of these tips relate specifically to a catastrophic Cascadia earthquake, most apply to a range of disasters.

First 2 Minutes

Check for injuries – your own and people around you.
During an unexpected disaster, an adrenalin surge will spread through your body. You may experience distortions in time, vision, hearing and other senses. You may experience a temporary state of not feeling pain, which could mean you aren’t aware of an injury that needs attention. You may lose control of bowels or bladder as the body shuts down any system that isn’t necessary to survival. When the adrenalin surge ends, you may collapse in exhaustion. These are all normal responses and may be seen in any of the people caught in the event.
Help yourself and others with critical needs – for example, injuries or shock.
Assess damage to the building. Decide whether to leave or stay is best. Determine safest routes to get out. Following an earthquake, most people feel a strong compulsion to get outside as soon as possible.
Implement any evacuation plan. Figure out how you will account for everyone who leaves.
Determine if there were customers and/or suppliers or others in the building to account for who will not be on lists of employees.
Decide what emergency supplies and critical business materials should be taken out of the building if you are evacuating. Put someone in charge of the items.
Be ready for aftershocks following an earthquake. Do not stand under or near things that could fall on you.
Text your status to loved ones, hopefully through your pre-arranged out of state contact.
Turn off water at toilet and hot water heater to prevent contaminated water from coming in.
ONLY if you smell gas leaks, turn off the gas. If you do not SMELL a leak, don’t turn off the gas. A gas leak has the smell of rotten eggs.

First 2 Hours

Provide first aid as needed within your group.
In an earthquake, be ready for aftershocks. Do not stand under or near things that could fall on you.
The adrenalin surge caused by an unexpected disaster (earthquake, fire, shooting) will usually be followed by exhaustion as the threat passes. This may be a factor in rallying people to action. Those who have experience in deep breathing exercises will find the technique helpful to restore clear thinking and reactions.
If you are in a situation where you are trying to rescue others, remember that rescuers can become the next victims. Work with your group to do what is necessary in the safest way possible.
Go through your list of employees to ensure everyone is accounted for. Try to account for customers, vendors or others who may have been onsite as well.
Talk to employees, customers, vendors and others who are onsite. Try to figure out the best approach to keep people as safe as possible, as well as help them plan for how to get to a place where they can stay longer-term if they aren’t able to make it home.
If you must shelter-in-place, assess the best options for a safe shelter that allows your group to stay dry and at a comfortable temperature. Create or build shelter if needed. Prioritize who will spend time in the shelter based on physical condition and needs of group members.
Change into heavier clothes, shoes and gloves if available and appropriate.
In case of an earthquake, take from your emergency kit, or make from fabric, a dust mask. There will probably be a lot of particles, smoke or dust in the air.
Help your group to decide if they are going to stay where they are for some period of time or if they are going to attempt to get home or to a longer term shelter. Determine if the group has maps, or knowledge of the area, to help make the trip in case roads and bridges are unusable.
Text your status again if you haven’t gotten through. Conserve your cell battery as much as possible.
Assess what resources your group has access to – water, food, lights, heat, first aid supplies, maps, skills and knowledge of group members, etc.
In case of an earthquake, decide what your group will do as a replacement for non-working toilets. Do not flush water down!
Beware of exposure. The shock of a disaster may make it harder to be aware of how cold or hot you are getting. Try to make sure your body isn’t having to work any harder than necessary to keep your body temperature in a safe zone. Help your group to be aware of their condition as well.
If you are getting cold and you have something that is a source of heat (heat packs, warmed rocks, other) place under your arms. There is a major artery there. This will warm the blood going through your body and help you stay more comfortable.
If you are getting cold and you have no source of heat, create insulation between you and the cold. Wrap layers of newspaper around your torso and tape together. Wad up paper, put in a plastic garbage bag, and pull bag up over your legs and seal with tape. Avoid dampness.
Beware of dehydration. It is important to drink fluids. If your group has emergency kits with water filters and/or supplies of water, they will be able to do this with less worry about how to stretch a scarce resource.
Implement your Business Continuity Plan, taking pre-planned actions to protect your most critical business functions.
Determine what assistance will be needed to carry out the actions in the Business Continuity Plan. Starting with the employees you are able to communicate with, decide what aspects of the work can be done given current conditions. Coordinate plans for meeting onsite at a later date/time if people are going home to check on conditions there prior to coming back to work.

First 2 Days

Implement your emergency business plan for contacting employees, protecting data, managing the company and re-establishing supply lines of needed materials and products. Remember, if the disaster has overloaded systems, it will be easier for a text message to go through than a telephone call.
Gather copies of insurance policies and other important papers that you will need to file claims, document losses and revise contracts and agreements.
If health services are not available, remember that even small cuts and abrasions may become infected without hot running water and soap to keep wounds clean, or antibiotic cream and bandages to protect from bacteria. Do everything possible to care for wounds the best that you can.
Continue to expect aftershocks following an earthquake. Do not stand under or near things that could fall on you.
Re-assess damages after any aftershocks that occur. Areas that seemed fine before may show problems following an aftershock.
Begin to clean up the damage from the disaster. Any items that include chemicals should be handled carefully. Don’t throw away chemicals that could interact in the same bag and create dangerous gases.
If the disaster impacts garbage service, be careful how you clean up. Use a separate bag for food or anything else that can decay and smell. Heavy duty contractor trash bags are the best to use.
Move the bags with chemicals and things that may spoil as far away from people as you can. Try to keep the bags as protected as possible, in the event garbage service does not resume for weeks or longer.
Items that are broken or smashed but will not smell and do not contain chemicals can be gathered and set aside until garbage pick-up resumes.
Be very careful while cleaning following a major disaster. Remember, a small injury that might have been an inconvenience could cause serious problems in the absence of health care. Work slowly and carefully. Beware of aftershocks following an earthquake.
If possible, contact your insurance company for assistance and to file a claim. If you don’t have telephone or internet service, take electronic pictures of damage for later use.
If you are sheltering in place and first responders are still overwhelmed or unable to reach you, continue to work with your group to stay hydrated, reduce exposure, address injuries and stay calm.
If you have people sheltering in place at your business, continue working on plans for how they will be able to get home, or to a place they can stay until things improve.
Continue to improve your shelter in place conditions as you are able to. Reinforce shelter. Reassess the resources you have and how you will allocate them over the next period of time. Reach out to others for help.
Talk with other business owners in your area and see if there are ways to combine efforts and make everyone’s recovery go more smoothly.
If water and sewer systems are damaged, personal sanitation will be a challenge. There are inexpensive and effective ways to deal with the issue.
In the case of a major disaster, it is inevitable that many rumors and half-truths will be spread. Only make important business decisions on the basis of information coming from authorities and trusted sources.

First 2 Weeks

Continue implementing your business emergency plan.
Use the information you’ve gathered on the status of your employees to revise your plans if needed. Determine what you can accomplish with the employees who are able to work during this time.
Assess and prioritize what resources you have available for use, including human and financial resources.
If there have been serious injuries or deaths of employees or their loved ones associated with the disaster, implement your plan to respond to these or determine what you need to do in response.
Are there ways that you can partner with other businesses in your area, or other businesses in your industry, to get up and running more quickly? Reach out to business and community contacts who may be interested in working together to share facilities, supplies or employees.
Reach out to government and community resources that may be able to help. The Small Business Administration provides a guide to services that can help businesses recover following a disaster. Team Rubicon helped businesses following Hurricane Sandy, and your local emergency manager will know about deploying this resource.
The aftermath of a disaster is a difficult time to make decisions. You may wonder if you can reopen your business at all. You may invest too many resources in trying to reopen a business that is no longer viable. Reach out to trusted advisors to make sure that you are considering all your options.

There are many things you can do that will increase the odds of your organization making it through a disaster with as little impact as possible. Some of these require little time or money, others can be done as resources permit.

Know Your Hazards

Know the risks. Which natural disasters are most likely to impact your business? The Oregon Comprehensive Emegency Management Plan details what threats are likely in your area.
Human-caused disasters are also a threat to your organization. Cybersecurity is a growing concern to all organizations. A small business cybersecurity planning guide may be helpful. The Small Business Administration offers cybersecurity planning, as does the Department of Homeland Security. You can also learn how to plan for terrorist or criminal threats.

Make a Plan

Take ten minutes to complete the Oregon Preparedness Scorecard for Business. The information applies to many organizations, not just businesses.
Faith-based organizations have special considerations which are addressed in the Compendium of Faith-Based Organization Resources.
A Congregational Disaster Preparedness Guidebook is also a helpful tool for faith-based organizations.
Training and other resources for multi-hazard emergency planning for schools will be helpful to administrators. School planning and campus planning materials provide a good place to start.
A comprehensive guide for developing high-quality emergency operations plans for colleges provides complete instructions.
Non-profits can utilize a variety of materials for emergency planning.
Share your plan. Who else needs to know what you plan to do following a disaster? Talk with employees, volunteers, suppliers, clients or others about your plan. Discuss with your accountant or attorney if appropriate.
Make sure you have paper copies of critical information. For example, employee or volunteer contact information, insurance policies, your emergency plan, contact information for critical clients, suppliers or service companies.
The more you know about the emergency plans of your community, your suppliers and your employees, the more you can ensure that your organization's plan fits into the larger picture. Reach out to your local emergency manager to find out more.

Prepare Key Personnel or Volunteers

There is no fee to take the courses below. These and other courses to help prepare your leadership to deal with a disaster are offered by the Federal Emergency Management Institute.

Continuity Planning

Emergency Management

Walk the talk on preparedness. Leaders who do the work of becoming 2 Weeks Ready at home, and who have a car and/or workplace emergency kit, will be much more effective at helping others follow their example.
Incorporating preparedness messages into meetings and gatherings on an ongoing basis is critical. The information can be presented in videos, or use the materials and brochures available through the links on this page.
Consider whether a "Preparedness Fair", water-heater strapping day or other event is something your organization can or should host for clients, members of your faith-based organization, agency volunteers or others.

Prepare Employees, Volunteers, Members, Clients and/or Students

Your organization may focus only on preparing employees, or may decide to increase preparedness among members, students or commuinty partners. If you start with your own core group, you will learn what works well and what doesn't. You can use that to guide later efforts to increase preparedness among a larger group.
Everyone should have a plan. Plans should include arrangements for pets, infants and young children, and seniors when appropriate.
Preparing students before an emergency will pay off when a disaster comes.
While 72 hour emergency kits are good for limited disasters, the Oregon Department of Emergency Management recommends being 2 Weeks Ready.
Consider providing emergency preparedness supplies or equipment instead of other items for gifts, bonuses or prizes. The Red Cross and other suppliers offer many options.
Help others think through what they would need to get home or to work in the event of a Cascadia earthquake. A sample survey you can adapt for use will provide a baselinehelp you plan for how many employees are likely to be able to get to work or home following a Cascadia earthquake.

Prepare Supplies

Collect emergency supplies for your facility. Make sure you have flashlights and extra batteries, a first aid kit, water, a NOAA weather radio, tools, a fire extinguisher, sanitation supplies and some non-perishable food onsite in case you are unable to leave your building for a period of time.
If you anticipate that your facility could be used for people to shelter-in-place, guidelines for personal preparedness will help you determine what quantity of supplies are needed.

Prepare Buildings

Mitigate risks. Different hazards require different preparation. FEMA provides information on how to mitigate risks from all hazards. Earthquake risks can be limited by using these detailed instructions to secure your space.
Make sure you have paper copies of critical information – for example, employee contact information; student, member or client information; insurance information; your emergency plan; contact information for critical suppliers, suppliers or service companies.
In the case of a Cascadia earthquake, sewer and water systems may be damaged. If people are sheltering in place at your location, you will need to deal with sanitation issues.

Program Overview

After the Disaster

When Disaster Occurs

Before Disaster Strikes