Calls for More Business Continuity Planning After Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Whenever a major disaster occurs, calls for better planning usually follow as we are now seeing after the earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. And, what so often happens, one disaster gives way to or creates another as with the nuclear plant issues following the natural disaster. 

There is a lot we can learn from Japan as one of the best prepared nations in the world when it comes to preparedness and planning for natural catastrophe. The first of which should be no matter how well you plan or prepare ahead of time, something unexpected or catastrophic can still occur, and the need to be flexible in your planning and using your contingency plan as a tool box as opposed to a rigid set of ordered procedures that should be followed is extremely important.

One of the unfortunate things that happen over time especially in the business world is that this type of planning quickly becomes un-important. Even more so during tough economic times as the recent global financial troubles, contingency planning was one of the first things to go.

While I appreciate the calls for better preparedness and I do agree with those calls, proper planning must consist of a continually ongoing process. Planning itself is a process and not a product or something you can do once and put it on a shelf.

Here are just some of the links to recent stories calling for better planning, preparedness and disaster recovery.

Do You Have a Disaster Recovery or Emergency Plan?

Need for Business Continuity Plans

Emergency Planning Crucial in Disaster Recovery

One last thing, while planning is great, it is still not enough. Make sure you incorporate tabletop or other exercises to test and run through your plan and look for gaps and opportunities for improvement.  



Earthquake and Tsunami In Japan

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan makes us all realize just how fragile life can be, and how powerful the forces of nature are. Events like these can be both unpredictable and unforgiving to our ways of life.

Japan was, and remains to be, one of the best prepared countries in the world when it comes to earthquakes and tsunami preparedness. The building codes are one of, if not the best in the world and yet no amount of preparedness can keep such events from happening to us anywhere in the world.

As I sit and write this I shudder to think about how such an event might impact other cities and countries around the world if the same event occured in another place. It reminds me of a conversation I once had with someone about being prepared to go at a moments notice with my go-bag ready at all times.

I would like to think that I am ready, but the truth is you never really know until that time is upon you. I only hope I never will be tested or have to put my last resort SHTF plan to work.

With this said, my thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people in there time of need. I ask that if you can to please make a donation to a charity that is actively helping the Japanese to recover.

A good one is always the Red Cross the only thing that you should be aware of when making donations to other charities is to be sure they are legitimate since fraud becomes an unfortunate event during these tragedies.

Just so you are aware March 27, 2011 kicks off Tsunami Awareness week, and I will be doing some posts on that starting that week.

So far estimated costs of the disaster are estimated to be around $180 Billion (U.S.) and the death toll estimated to be around 10,000 and expected to climb as whole towns and infrastructures have been wiped out.

March 21st Starts Tsunami Awareness Week

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program have designated March 21-27 as Tsunami Awareness Week. This designation comes in the wake of last month’s tsunami in Chile and less than six months after a tsunami hit American Samoa, both events resulting in loss of life and property.

As part of tsunami awareness week, NOAA’s National Weather Service will host open houses at its tsunami warning centers in Alaska and Hawaii, and many coastal states will host community tsunami awareness activities.

California will launch a statewide tsunami awareness campaign including a new classroom lesson plan, two municipalities in Puerto Rico will complete requirements to become National Weather Service-designated TsunamiReady™ communities and Hawaii’s Lt. Governor, Duke Aiona, will host a tsunami awareness event at a school within a tsunami inundation zone on Oahu.

“NOAA continues to improve our ability to detect, forecast and warn for tsunamis,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “But warnings are only part of the equation. To survive a tsunami, coastal residents and visitors need to know how to recognize a tsunami threat and how to get to safety quickly.”

Lubchenco noted that the U.S. coast is vulnerable to near-and onshore earthquakes, similar to recent tragedies in American Samoa and Chile. Those earthquakes generated fast-moving tsunamis that struck within 20 minutes with little or no warning. “A powerful earthquake can be nature’s warning of a tsunami. That’s when you need to grab your family and head to higher ground.”

In conjunction with Tsunami Awareness Week, on March 24 the National Weather Service and several state emergency management organizations will conduct exercises to test and practice tsunami response plans along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific coasts, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Alaska and Hawaii.

These exercises, called LANTEX10 and PACIFEX10, provide an opportunity for coastal emergency management organizations to test and update emergency response plans for tsunamis – a critical component to maintaining readiness for a tsunami emergency. Coastal emergency management organizations will participate in the tests at varying levels, ranging from table top exercises to full-scale drills and beach-front evacuations.

“It’s important that families in coastal areas take steps to prepare for a potential tsunami or other emergency,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.  “These steps include developing a family communications plan, putting an emergency kit together, and following the instructions of state and local officials in the event of an emergency.  I encourage everyone to become informed of the risks where they live in order to better protect their homes and families.”

In the State of Alaska and the northern California counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino, an Emergency Alert System communications test will be conducted in conjunction with the exercise. Residents in these areas may hear community sirens, see an Emergency Alert System tsunami alert scroll across their television screens and hear a test message being broadcast over NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards.

The tests also provide coastal residents and businesses an opportunity to review and practice tsunami response plans.

The National Weather Service operates a tsunami warning system for the United States, U.S. territories and western Canada through two tsunami warning centers, in Palmer, Alaska, and Ewa Beach, Hawaii. The centers, staffed 24/7, issue tsunami warning, advisory, watch and information messages as early as five to fifteen minutes after an earthquake. Upon receipt of tsunami messages, state and local emergency management agencies determine the appropriate response including whether or not to evacuate people from the warned area.

Following the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Congress provided NOAA with more than $90 million to expand the nation’s tsunami detection and warning capabilities, and an additional $135 million for research, integrated observing systems, hazard mitigation and for a global tsunami warning and education network. As a result of this investment, the nation and the world are better prepared for the next tsunami.

To date 74 coastal communities in the U.S. have earned the National Weather Service TsunamiReady™ designation, up from only 11 in 2004. Thanks to this program, emergency managers in these communities are now better prepared to warn their citizens about tsunamis. NOAA also has completed a network of 39 buoy stations, up from only six experimental buoys in 2004.  

Warning Signs of a Tsunami

• A strong earthquake, or one that persists for 20 seconds or longer
• The ocean withdraws, exposing the sea floor
• A loud, roaring sound (like an airplane or a train) coming from the ocean
• Tsunami warnings broadcast over television and radio, by beach lifeguards, community sirens, text message alerts, National Weather Service tsunami warning center Web sites and on NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards

What You Should Do if You See These Signs

• Remain calm
• Move inland to higher ground
• Continue to monitor media sources for information
• Stay away from the beach until officials issue an “all clear" — Remember that a tsunami may be a series of waves over a period of several hours