TOP DRAWER ARTICLE

Business Disaster Planning: Lightning Strikes!
by
HL Carpenter

Many US businesses close for fun and fireworks on the 4th of July. But there’s another summertime sky-high energy display that can idle your business – lightning. It carries the potential to zap your bottom line as well. Are you prepared?

Know your risk. According to the National Weather Service, the US averages 20 million lightning strikes per year. The most strikes occur along “Lightning Alley” in Florida, with North Carolina second on the list. Is your business – or that of your suppliers – located in a high risk area?

Actions to take: Use a free disaster preparedness guide from the Small Business Administration or a local planning council to create a plan for dealing with the aftermath of a lightning strike. Things to consider include: A temporary operating location if your premises are destroyed or unusable; a uniform method of contacting your customers and vendors; how you’ll replace damaged equipment; where you’ll obtain the necessary operating supplies to continue running your business.

Checking your insurance coverage is a good idea, too. Ask your agent if your office or building is insured against lightning or power surge damage. You may also want to look into personal liability and business interruption coverage. Find out what precautions you can take to mitigate the damage from lightning strikes, and if those precautions will reduce your premiums.

Put physical protection in place. More facts from the National Weather Service: A bolt of lightning is five times hotter than the sun. What’s more, the radius of each strike can be as much as 60 feet - which means if your business is located in the strike zone the consequences may not be pretty. Lightning is also a major cause of power surges.

Actions to take: Have an electrician install a lightning protection system to deflect the force of the lightning into the ground. Ask your utility company about surge protectors, or buy an off-the-shelf unit to protect computers, fax machines, copiers and printers. Make sure your alarm systems, security cameras and electric fences are supplied by backup power. Make backups of important data and keep at least one copy off-site.

It’s impossible to completely lightning-proof your business against strikes and power surges. But by identifying your risk, installing protective devices and backing up important information, your business should be able to weather the storm.

Originally published July 2009.

Last update: January 8, 2011