I know that readers like infographics – the Diva does too when they edify and do not oversimplify the subject matter. See this new one: Top Natural Disasters That Threaten Businesses, which was done by Eastern KY University.
Thanks to Austin Anderson for bringing it to my attention. He notes that “The linked graphic displays the top natural disasters affecting businesses while providing valuable solutions on how to prepare for such a devastating event.”
From the Staten Island newspaper, this article about the slow progress in helping small businesses post H. Sandy.See: Few small businesses helped with federal Hurricane Sandy relief funds, administration tells City Council.
It’s not just homeowners hit by Sandy who are waiting for help: Relief has also been slow to trickle to small businesses, city officials and business owners testified to City Council members Wednesday.
Just 10 businesses citywide have received only $2.76 million as part of the Hurricane Sandy Business Loan and Grant program, out of some $42 million available for the program in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development block grants, Small Business Services Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer said.
“In looking at the program, there are process improvements we can make so that number — which was seven a couple of weeks ago and is now 10 — is dramatically higher, as quickly as possible,” Ms. Torres-Springer told members of the Small Business and Resilience and Recovery Committees.
The dismal statistics echoed testimony at previous hearings on housing recovery — when officials admitted that the number of homes under construction or with checks in the mail was also in the single digits. Ms. Torres-Springer blamed strict rules around the HUD funding, designed to be a last resort for business owners, for the slow disbursement, and pointed out the city had much more quickly handed out grants and loans funded by other sources.
This 10 page report provides 6 case studies on financing small business recovery; prepared by the International Economic Development Council.
Thanks to the Natural Hazards Mitigation Association for the citation.
The folks at the CDC Foundation has prepared a really excellent interactive graphic. See this Business Continuity infographic.
Since the Diva wanted to print it off and use it as a poster, the staff at the foundation were gracious enough to break it up into 3 pdf files so that it would print off. If you want a copy of the 3 files to print, contact the Diva directly.
The American Planning Association New York Metro Chapter presented a report, Getting Back to Business: Addressing the Needs of Rockaway Businesses Affected by Superstorm Sandy, to the Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation (RDRC), culminating a seven-month effort to address business recovery and resilience on the Rockaway peninsula after Superstorm Sandy.
Despite best efforts, approximately half of the Rockaway’s 1,100 businesses are still closed. To address this, the chapter brought together dozens of planning experts to volunteer their services to develop medium and long-term strategies for RDRC, the peninsula’s largest community development corporation.
Read the full press release about the report at the APA New York Metro Chapter website or read the entire report: “Getting Back to Business: Addressing the Needs of Rockaway Businesses Affected by Superstorm Sandy”
One of the impediments to recovery often is due to disputes between homeowners or business owners and insurance companies. We saw that after H. Katrina and we saw it more recently in Christchurch, NZ. This artiele explains a pending action by Gov Christie of N.Y. NJ Plans to Set up Mediation of Disputes with Insurance Companies . Some excerpts:
New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance is setting up a mediation program to give consumers the chance to settle insurance disputes without the time and expense of litigation. The department currently is seeking proposals from companies to provide mediation services, and interested firms have until March 7 to submit a bid.
The program would sit an experienced mediator between policyholders and their insurance companies in order to review the case and assist in settlement discussions. Similar efforts were undertaken with success in Gulf Coast states after hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed the region in 2005, Kenneth Kobylowski, commissioner of the insurance department, said yesterday.
From the real estate And construction industry perpective, here are some details about the new rebuilding requirements in NJ.: NJ Enacts New Rebuilding Rules In Response to Superstorm Sandy. 11 February 2013. The number of structures affected is truly staggering. Some details of the article:
The impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey was enormous: nearly 346,000 housing units either destroyed or damaged and 190,000 businesses affected.1 Sandy demonstrated just how vulnerable to damage much of the low-lying areas in the state are to major flooding events. Because the storm’s devastation was so severe it became apparent to state policymakers and regulators that the past construction norms and flood elevation levels in these areas would have to be significantly altered for any rebuilding.
Moreover, developers and property owners alike were faced with the uncertainty of rising flood insurance premiums and huge reconstruction costs.On January 24, 2013, Gov. Christie approved emergency regulations proposed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that set forth revised rebuilding guidelines in the flood hazard areas throughout the state. The amended Flood Hazard Area Control Act (Flood Act) regulations, among other things, adopt the Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE) maps that were recently updated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
According to the DEP statement accompanying the emergency rules, the objective of the new regulations is to encourage residents and businesses of New Jersey to rebuild stronger and as soon as possible and to do it using the best available flood elevation data for setting proper design elevations.
________________________________
Please use the Support Us feature in the upper right corner of the homepage to assist the production of this blog.
According to an article in BusinessInsurance.com, Disaster prep confidence lags
75% of employees say employers not well-prepared. June 3, 2012
New report from the Chamber of Commerce; link to 57 page report is here.
Recovery Diva 