Web-based program aims to help businesses prepare for disaster

Ice storms, flooding, earthquakes and tornadoes are just a few of the disasters -- natural or otherwise -- that could harm businesses. But few of those businesses are prepared if any of these events occur, a local disaster-response planner said Friday.

Beth Seabaugh, community resilience coordinator for the American Red Cross chapter here, gave a presentation on the organization's Ready Rating during the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center. The program is designed to help businesses plan for disasters.

Begun in 2008, Ready Rating is a free, Web-based membership program aimed at helping businesses, organizations and schools become better-prepared for emergencies. Members complete an online self-assessment of their readiness level and receive customized feedback with tips to improve preparedness, according to a Red Cross pamphlet.

Seabaugh said nearly 60 percent of Americans are not prepared for a disaster. Ninety-four percent of small business owners believe a disaster could seriously disrupt their operations in the next two years, and sometimes insurance coverage alone will not "save the day," she said.

Also, four of five businesses fail after the loss of a key executive, and one-third of businesses have no business continuity plan. However, 82 percent of businesses agreed if someone would make it easy to prepare for disruptions, they would. That's where Seabaugh said the Ready Rating program comes in.

"It's designed to dramatically improve preparedness levels of businesses, schools and organizations," Seabaugh said.

Nationwide, Ready Rating has 6,602 members, of which 5,587 are businesses and organizations and 1,015 are schools. She said local membership is low.

Large, small and home-based businesses are members, as are not-for-profits. Regional members include Anheuser-Busch, Grainger, Express Scripts, Monsanto and Washington University.

Seabaugh said churches can use it, too, if they approach the questions from a more abstract angle.

Local members include Soto Property Solutions, which manages about 500 properties from Perryville, Mo., to Sikeston, Mo., and ARI-Jackson Manufacturing, a manufacturing company that specializes in fabrication, welding, machining and heat treating.

David Soto, a broker with Soto Property Solutions, started the self-assessment and realized it was important after his and three other businesses in his building were broken into last week. Nothing was taken from his business, but it was a wake-up call.

"I think it's a great opportunity to be prepared, to know exactly what to do in case of emergency," Soto said. "Most of our information is on a cloud," he said, but there are still items in hard copy that need to be protected.

Once the assessment is complete, there are resources available for next steps. "After you complete the assessment, we want you to show the community you've done so," Seabaugh said. She said she would visit businesses to answer any questions.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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