Any resident of California – specially the bay area is fully aware of the dangers of earthquakes. Almost everyone is schooled in how to protect oneself during an earthquake. While the earthquake may only last a few seconds – the effects can last for long periods of time.
Napa Valley was the hardest hit – broken buildings, high end wine spillage, house damage were some of what was reported. The Napa Valley wine industry generates 13 billion dollars of economic activity and supports 46,000 jobs locally. Damage was estimated to be in the range of $500 million to $1 billion and most wineries are expected to recover. It could have been far worse.
The earthquake shows why even relatively small businesses have to plan for such disruptions. The faster they get on their feet the better. This is very crucial during the height of the grape harvesting season. Once grapes are harvested they have to be processed as soon as possible. Earthquakes can disrupt that. How about wines that are stored over long periods of time to enhance their vintage? An earthquake can wipe storage out.
Planning is essential. Ever possible angle should be through and plans drawn up accordingly. If you live in an earthquake zone and do not have a BCDR plan – may this earthquake wake you up. Start the process immediately. If you are business, specially a small business, huddle with your employees and think through what it will take to recover. In some cases, you can take actions that will leapfrog local calamities – for example use of an online backup service (see one of my earlier blogs) for your computers will enable you to recover information immediately.
Planning never goes out of style – it will save you and your business.