Be Proactive
First and foremost, if your business is located in an area that commonly experiences natural disasters, we strongly encourage you to take proactive measures, before the storm arrives, to help you efficiently react!Install backup battery packs to all security cameras and alarm systems!
If you want to prevent looters during emergency evacuations, this step is so important! Often, a hurricane will cause an entire area to lose power. With backup battery packs, you will be able to better document what is happening at your location which can help when submitting insurance claims.Have a monitoring service installed before-hand on all security cameras that monitor intrusions in real time!
This is super helpful because, even though you are not onsite, an off-site team will still be watching/monitoring your location. Then, if there is an intrusion, the police will be notified! Additionally, you can add sirens to attempt and scare away the intruders!
Block all windows and doors with plywood or steel gates.
By doing this, you are creating an extra barrier to prevent looters during emergency evacuations. Often, thieves do not want to take the extra time necessary to get past the plywood or gates! Why? Well, this extra time can either draw attention and/or allow for the police to arrive before they get out of the building! (Especially if you have a monitoring system installed, because the police will be notified!)
Remove any valuable assets and store them in a secure location.
We suggest having a checklist for what valuable assets need to be collected, and where you would want to store them. Perhaps invest in a safe for the smaller items, and/or take them with you!
The trick with this one is to the checklist! It will help keep you focused during the stressful time. Additionally, if you are not able to get back to the location (you might be on vacation when the evacuation goes into effect), your employees or team members may be able to help before they leave!
If your company does not already have a security firm, hire one immediately!
Oftentimes hourly rates for areas affected by natural disasters will skyrocket past $100 an hour if purchased after the natural disaster. So, if you are contemplating hiring a security firm now, do it while the rates are affordable!
Final Thoughts
Note that these are helpful tips to prepare your company’s security for weathering a storm. Following these tips do not guarantee that your company will be safe from all looters. But, these proactive measures can absolutely help! Just make sure you prepare yourself before the emergency evacuation is in effect!
