The first 72 hours of any disaster are chaotic and unpredictable. Emergency services may be delayed or unable to reach your organisation or business.
This period is recognised as the most crucial time for getting through the immediate aftermath with food, water, shelter, and medical supplies.
Earthquakes, bushfires, severe storms and flooding may hit with little to no notice, and having a plan for yourself and your business helps you react swiftly and appropriately, not just freeze or panic.
Getting through the first 72 hours with minimal harm sets you up for a smoother long-term recovery, meaning you can resume critical business operations sooner.
If you don’t have an emergency plan for yourself or your business, here’s why you need one:
- Emergency services may be delayed
After a major disaster, police, fire, and medical personnel may be overwhelmed or unable to reach everyone immediately. - Basic utilities could be down
Power, gas, water, and sewage systems might be disrupted, making it hard to power key business functions, cook, stay warm, or maintain hygiene. - Supply chains could be impacted
Key business supplies, supermarkets and pharmacies may be closed due to damage or a lack of staff and your suppliers may not be able to deliver essential items for you to sell. - Communication lines may be cut off
Cell towers and internet infrastructure could go down, cutting off access to key business functions and networks, news, emergency updates, and loved ones. - You may need to evacuate quickly
Whether it’s a bushfire, flood, or some other threat, a plan helps you leave fast with what you truly need so you can minimise panic and pause and later pick up business activities.
Australian state, territory and local governments are now advocating for 72 hour preparedness planning for individuals and businesses. And charities and not-for-profits are also rolling out their own collateral to encourage people to plan and prepare.
In Victoria, the State Emergency Management Priorities guide decision-making for any response to emergencies.
The priorities cover protection and preservation of life, keeping communities informed so they can make decision about their own safety, protecting critical infrastructure and community assets that support community resilience, and protecting residential property.
Where are businesses? The protection of assets supporting individual livelihoods and economic production is well down on the list of priorities…making it more important than ever that business owners take on the responsibility for planning and preparing ahead of disasters and disruptions that could undermine their ability to trade or provide goods and services.
Have we convinced you yet? Check out our suite of micro-learning tools, which make disaster planning and preparedness more accessible for communities and small businesses.
Resilient Ready is a social enterprise delivering innovative solutions to enable every organisation to thrive before, during and after disasters. To keep updated on news and current projects, sign up to our newsletter.
