Disaster Preparedness
Keep in mind that "time taken to prevent damage to and loss of records is cheaper than the cost of disaster recovery."
Steps to Disaster Preparedness
- Identify the risks:
- Geographic and climate hazards
- Man-made disasters
- Adjacent environmental risks
- Building and site risks
- Identify recovery vendors: If possible, make prior contact with vendors and gather information on their capabilities and how they operate.
- Develop a communication strategy: Determine how information will be communicated to staff during and after regular business hours. Compile emergency contact information for:
- All staff members
- Lead and supervisory staff members (separate listing)
- Local emergency personnel
- State agency contacts
- Facility management staff
- Develop a written preparedness plan that:
- Identifies a staff member to head up the disaster preparedness efforts
- Includes a plan to train staff
- Distributed to all staff and local emergency personnel
- Is stored off-site
- Identifies vital records and prioritizes which records to save first; this includes being familiar with your records schedule and the records created in your office
- Includes provisions for compiling disaster recovery supplies.
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