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New Report Itemizes Small Businesses' Vulnerability to Extreme Weather Events. 07-30-13 | News

New Report Itemizes Small Businesses' Vulnerability to Extreme Weather Events.

Of the 60,000 to 100,000 small businesses negatively affected by Hurricane Sandy, up to 30 percent are estimated to have failed as a direct result of the storm.

Tornados, hurricanes, flooding, blizzards, and the like wreak havoc indiscriminately. Loss of life of course tops the list of tragic results from extreme weather events but financial losses also deliver severe effects.

According to a recent article in USA Today, there were more than 800 extreme events worldwide in 2012 resulting in more than $130 billion in damages.

A report just released from the advocacy group Small Business Majority, targeting risks to small business from extreme weather events, concluded that 57 percent of small businesses have no disaster recovery plan, and for those that do, 90 percent spend less than one day a month preparing and maintaining them.

Featuring case studies from various business sectors including the landscape industry, the report also found that:

An estimated 25 percent of small to mid-sized businesses do not reopen following a major disaster.
The median cost of downtime from a small business affected by an extreme weather event is $3,000 per day.
One-third of small business owners report they have been personally affected by extreme weather.

The direct risks, destruction of life and property, are obvious but companies also need to consider the indirect risks, which include power outages, lack of access to water, increased demand for heat or air conditioning, rising insurance costs, supply chain disruptions, lack of access to natural resources, and loss of work hours.

The direct and indirect risks to landscape companies vary by geographic region and the specific business but being aware of, and preparing for, these risks puts them in a better position to carry on after an extreme weather event.

The full report from the Small Business Majority is available at https://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/small-business-research/clean-energy/climate-change-preparedness-and-small-business.php