Hurricanes And Business Prepping

Is your company ready for hurricane season this year?

Most people think of hurricanes as something that happen in the south, primarily on the Gulf Coast. While Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico still recover from 2017’s season, Colorado State University has also predicted 2018 to be an “above average” year for hurricane activity. CSU’s predictions include 14 named storms and seven major hurricanes. Three of those will become Category 3 hurricanes for the US and the Caribbean, with a 63% chance that at least one of them will endanger a US coastline. From June 1 through November 30th, we hold our collective breath whenever meteorologists notice an invest crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

After the devastation seen in the US during 2017, preparation is more important than ever. Katrina, Rita and Harvey all hit the US right where it hurt—in the middle of the Gulf Coast refining center. But after 2012’s Sandy, we know that hurricanes aren’t just a “gulf coast problem.”

A lot of people and companies are embracing the idea of “prepping.” That is, being ready for the possibility of a disaster happening with little or no notice. A “prepper” is usually thought of as someone in a fringe element with a stocked bunker and MREs, waiting for an unnamed catastrophe. But for a company that may need—or rely upon—getting regular fuel deliveries, “prepping” means something entirely different.

Many companies already have a disaster recovery and business continuity plan in place, or at least plan to create one this year. If your business uses:

  • Service vans, trucks, or other vehicles
  • Boats
  • Generators for power generation
  • Boilers
  • Refrigeration units
  • Building, construction and excavation equipment
  • Other machinery that runs on fuel

Would your company be able to continue operating if you didn’t have the fuel to run your equipment?

Think about your customers and clients. Can they depend on you if you don’t have the fuels you need to keep going? And what would that much downtime mean for your business?

Equipment testing should also be part of your disaster recovery and business continuity plan. You don’t want to find out at a critical moment that the generator that worked fine three years ago hasn’t been started up since then and now doesn’t start.

Even if you already have a regular fuel supplier, can they get you the fuel you need after a disaster?

Planning for the worst should include fuel when the regular supply lines are cut off. Having pre-planned fuel deliveries before a disaster strikes means that you can start your business continuity plan when it’s safe to go back into the building.

Having our own strategic fuel reserves means we can tap into sources nationwide whenever they’re needed. And pre-planning your fuel deliveries means you won’t be subjected to inflated post-disaster pricing.

It’s important to remember that although we may get the predicted number of storms, or even more than predicted, they don’t always make landfall and cause widespread destruction. But any time a storm strengthens enough to name, there is always the risk and the possibility that it will become the next Harvey, Irma or Sandy. Even without a hurricane, weather-related disasters can happen, as well as man-made disasters. Start updating your disaster/recovery plans now, and include the fuel supplies you’ll need to get back up and running.

The best defense is a good offense. Now is the time to review and revise your emergency and business continuity plan so that you’re ready if the worst happens to your business. Contact us today to set up your emergency fuel supplies before you need them. Call us at 1-866-445-5508, email us at [email protected], or use our online contact form. Centrally located with strategic fuel reserves throughout the US, Specialty Fuel Services can deliver emergency fuel and equipment anywhere. We’re just a phone call away.