Are Your Region's Businesses Prepared for a Disaster?

Wildfires. Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Mudslides. Ice storms. Floods. Earthquakes.

Natural disasters come in a variety of forms, leaving most communities unprepared for the economic consequences. When lives are lost, residents are displaced, infrastructure damaged and businesses shuttered, the path to rebuilding and bouncing back can be difficult to see. All the more reason to make sure your region is as prepared as possible to withstand these challenges. 

Natural disasters appear to be increasing in frequency and severity as a result of climate change. This puts communities at risk for occurrences they might not otherwise have predicted. These natural disasters can throw a business’s carefully laid plans and projections into disarray. Supply chains may be broken, employees might be unable to get to work, and vital facilities or equipment could be damaged. Businesses may find themselves needing to react to the reality of the situation. Economic developers are well placed to provide the kind of leadership their regions need to successfully rebound.

Economic resilience in the face of potential disaster requires a mix of forethought and planning. While the loss of life from natural disasters is immeasurable, the destruction of property and infrastructure can cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Emotions run high, sometimes obscuring the right decisions. What can we learn from the disasters of the past? Guest speaker, Leann Hackman-Carty, Entrepreneur, Author, Master of Disaster, Resilience Champ, and CEO for Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) since 2009 addressed this subject in our complimentary webinar on June 11th (1 p.m EDT / 10 a.m PDT), When, Not If: Are Your Region's Businesses Prepared for a Disaster?. Click the link to access the landing page for the video recording of this webinar. 

The more tools, information, and resources that your region’s businesses have access to, the more empowered they will be to take charge of their own response and recovery efforts. It could mean the difference between saving lives, keeping our livelihood, and maintaining our quality of life. Governments, emergency response organizations, and humanitarian relief agencies cannot do it alone. These measures can make all the difference when it comes to stabilizing the area economy after a disastrous event.

Our June 11th webinar will address how economic developers can prepare, mitigate, and prevent disasters as well as help businesses in your area be better able to respond, recover, and remain more resilient in face of disruptive change. 

What did we cover? Click here to access the video recording of this webinar.

• Case study: Fort McMurray (AB) business response and recovery
• About disasters - types and challenges
• Step-by-step guide to helping your region’s businesses Stand APART©
• This session will be followed by a Q& A