Businesses and organizations affected by disaster are at risk of experiencing an interruption in service, property loss, financial loss and possible closure. In local communities, businesses and organizations provide goods, services and jobs to the local economy and without them the community will suffer as a whole. After a disaster, as businesses reopen their doors and employees return to work, goods and services resume and communities are able to return to a new "normal." Without business recovery, progress throughout the community is prolonged or held at a standstill.
Response versus Recovery
In the event of an emergency, the immediate response is the steps taken to address the immediate threats. Do you need to evacuate the building? Do you need to take shelter? Do you need to contact the police or fire department? Do you need to contact your employees or customers?
After the threat has passed hopefully your business can quickly address any cleanup, conduct any damage assessments and get back to work as soon as possible. Recovery could begin in as little as one day to one week if the event was minor.
But what if your business faced a major disaster? Yes, you will still need to respond to the immediate threats but the recovery phase could last up to a year later and if a disaster affected not only you but your community as well, then the recovery phase could last for several years.
