Be prepared guide

Severe storms are common in Australia and cause hundreds of millions of dollars of damage each year. They can occur anywhere, anytime and they occur more frequently than any other natural hazard including bushfires, cyclones and floods.

Severe storms can impact your business

The best way for your business to cope in these circumstances is to have a plan before severe storms strike. Time and clear thinking are luxuries in an emergency situation, which is why it is so important to be prepared.

Severe storms can impact on your business in the following ways:

• injury, or serious harm to your staff or customers
• damage to buildings; vehicles and other important business assets
• property damage, loss of stock and damage to electrical equipment and machinery
• extended power outages may cause the loss of perishables; disrupt communications and business processes as well as preventing the operation of machinery
• impact on staff members’ ability to travel to work
• suppliers may be unable to deliver goods, which may impact on production schedules
• customers and staff may not be able to access your premises for several days due to damage and/or flood impacts.

These impacts can lead to a significant loss of income and affect your business cash flow.

Develop a business continuity plan and create a resilient business with the help of the severe storm readiness checklist found in the Be Prepared - a guide for business continuity during weather events (PDF, 826KB).

To contact council's business development facilitators, email [email protected].