In my monthly article, titled “Being Organized During Natural Disaster,” I mentioned how Hurricane Ike in Houston affected me and the checklist I created the evening before in case of evacuation or disaster.  Fortunately I did not have to deal with those issues, but being without electricity for two weeks would have been a real challenge without the items I had on hand.

I encourage everyone not to bury your head in the sand.  Disasters can strike anywhere, and knowing that you have a plan reduces stress and ensures that you have what you need when you need it.  Create checklists now for both personal and business categories.  You might have a list of items you need, and then another list of documents.  Scanning important documents into your laptop and/or having an online backup where you can access papers from anywhere makes immediate disaster preparation easier.

The following are some of the comments I received in response to my article:

• Even though I received the article after the storm, the information is valuable and I was already putting some of these ideas to work.  We also were without power for 13 days.  Life was interesting to say the least, but I did learn just how unprepared I was for this situation and how important it is to have a workable plan.  Being organized would have probably saved some sense of sanity for me and my family of two scouts.  Husband and son were very unprepared and depended on me to keep them on track and together.  I have already made a list of things necessary for survival.  The ravages of Mother Nature could have affected more than just the huge tree that fell across three yards but did not damage to houses, other trees, or even the child walking sign.  Your tips are very helpful to me and I try to put them into practice as I can.  I just want to say thank you again for so many things.
• I didn’t know you were based in Houston.  Me too.  It was surely a learning experience.  I base my office at home and was unable to complete work due to lack of preparation.  It was my first hurricane. Everyone said to prepare for three days without electricity…not 15!!  The first three days I was in shock at my surrounding neighborhood.  Our damages were minimal compared to our neighbors, with trees down everywhere.  The hardest was not having grocery stores close by that functioned, and having 3 teenagers at home for two weeks without electricity or good home-cooked meals.
• Wow, what a lot of information you provided…we all need to think about backup for all those items.  I have a fireproof box (and a bank safe deposit box) for documents, but email contacts…etc., I would not think about.  I wondered how you managed without electricity.  It is hard enough personally, but business-wise must be a nightmare.

This week isn’t too late to start putting together an emergency packet for yourself, your family, and your business.