How to Build a Flood Emergency Response Plan for Your Business

In the last 20 years, flooding events have cost the United States nearly $97 billion and more than 300 deaths. But it’s not just the U.S.; flooding in Europe has cost more than €170 billion since 1980, with upwards of 5,500 deaths. And these flooding events can happen nearly anywhere, from coastal flooding due to hurricanes, to atmospheric rivers, to inland flooding and dam breaks.

Flooding brought on by atmospheric rivers in California was the first billion-dollar weather event in 2023. Businesses like CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), an advisory firm with several offices within the flood zone, needed to find an effective way to respond to the event to protect their at-risk employees.

Scott Van Pee, Quality and Risk Project Director at CliftonLarsonAllen, told us about his tactics for flood response in an interview on The Employee Safety Podcast. It takes a two-pronged approach: There is the effort of those in the impacted area and then support from those offsite. “So, we coordinate from both fronts: We have our contacts locally who can turn around and send communications, and then we make sure we have people on standby to help track people if needed.”

A comprehensive flood emergency response plan like the one Scott describes is the best way to ensure your business won’t flounder when the waters rise. Read on for a breakdown of what you’ll need to create your flood response plan, how you can prepare your employees to stay safe, and how your operations will stay afloat during a flood emergency.

Understanding the Risks of Flooding

The best emergency preparedness plans are based on a thorough risk assessment; your flood preparedness plan is no exception. Luckily, unlike other, more unpredictable emergencies like earthquakes, many resources are available to help you assess and understand your flood risks and how to prevent the most damage.

Examining recent or high-impact flood events in your area is one way to gain specific insight into your business’s risks and the impact a flood can have. You can also look to the GOV.UK flood risk site in the U.K. or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website in the U.S. to find flood maps for your location, showing exactly where floodwaters go and how high the flood levels get.

Conducting a thorough business threat assessment specific to your location is also vital. This assessment should identify vulnerable areas within the premises, critical infrastructure that may be affected, and valuable assets that need protection. It’s also a great opportunity to map out your potential flood evacuation routes and find high-ground areas for shelter in highly vulnerable spaces. By understanding the unique risks associated with your business location, you can develop targeted strategies to mitigate the impact of floods.

Establish a Crisis Management Team

To effectively respond to a flood emergency, assembling a competent crisis management team is crucial. This team should consist of individuals who clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and who can be relied upon during a crisis. Here are a few crisis management team roles to consider creating:

• Incident Commander—Responsible for overseeing the overall response effort and disaster recovery
• Communications Officer—In charge of internal and external communications about the event, including sending out any flood watch or flood warning alerts to employees
• Logistics Coordinator—Manages mitigation resources such as sandbags and generators (in case of outages) and ensures their proper allocation and deployment during the flood and throughout clean-up

Regular training, drills, and simulations, such as tabletop exercises, are essential for the crisis management team. These activities help team members familiarize themselves with their roles, strengthen coordination, and identify areas for improvement. By conducting these exercises regularly, such as quarterly or bi-annually, you can ensure that the team remains prepared to handle a flood no matter when it occurs.

Develop Communication Protocols for Floods

Effective communication is paramount during a flood. When establishing your communication protocols within your flood response plan, there are a few considerations you’ll want to keep in mind.

Plan for Emergency Evacuation

Well-defined emergency evacuation procedures are crucial to protecting employees during floods. Establish clear evacuation routes, designated assembly points, and high-ground locations for sheltering in place if need be. The evacuation plan should also consider accessibility and cater to the special requirements of employees with disabilities.

Regular emergency drills and training sessions should be conducted to familiarize employees with the evacuation procedures. By practicing these procedures, employees can respond swiftly and calmly during a flood, reducing the risk of injuries and facilitating a more efficient evacuation.

Protect Assets and Infrastructure

Physical assets, equipment, and critical infrastructure are vulnerable to damage during a flood. However, mitigating actions can be taken ahead of time to safeguard these valuable resources. These can include relocating assets to higher ground or upper floors, installing flood barriers or flood-resistant building designs, and ensuring proper drainage systems.

Regular maintenance and inspections play a crucial role in minimizing vulnerabilities. By identifying potential weaknesses in infrastructure, such as exposed power lines or electronic assets, you can take proactive steps to reinforce them and reduce the risk of flood damage. It’s also helpful to ensure you have the proper insurance policies, such as through the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program, covering a flood or other natural disaster that might coincide, such as landslides.

Ensure Business Continuity

Maintaining business operations during and after a flood emergency is vital for long-term viability. But for many businesses, an interruption like a flood does more than prevent employees from going about their day-to-day operations. It also affects how a company can support its community.

Consider strategies such as data backup and disaster recovery plans to protect critical information. You can also implement remote work capabilities so employees can continue working from alternative locations if flood hazards prevent them from traveling to and from the work site. Additionally, identifying alternative suppliers and establishing relationships in advance can help mitigate supply chain disruptions if a key partner gets shut down due to a flood. 

Review and Test the Plan

A flood emergency response plan should be regularly reviewed and updated to account for changes in business operations, infrastructure, or external factors. After flooding events or after drills and exercises, conduct after-action reviews to identify any gaps or areas for improvement. These simulations provide valuable insights into the plan’s effectiveness and allow for adjustments.

Additionally, as climate change continues to increase the scale and severity of natural disasters, regularly review changes to flood maps and stay on top of any National Weather Service or Met Office forecasts for your area. Just because you weren’t previously at risk for a particular type of flood one year doesn’t mean you’ll never have to prepare for it.

Planning for Effective Flood Preparedness

It can take minutes for the waters to rise and put your people and business at risk. You don’t want to wait until the flood is upon you to plan how to protect your employees. Get started building out your flood emergency response plan now so you’ll be ready long before you need to find high ground. You can learn more about how AlertMedia can make your communication and threat tracking easier and more reliable, so you have the best information as soon as possible and a reliable way to alert your people to danger. Schedule a demo today.