Background on My Last Blog…
After my last blog, Four Reasons NOT to Come to Asheville, NC, Right Now, I received a lot of feedback in agreement with me and also feedback disagreeing with me.
Whenever I write a blog, I do research. Here are a few resources from my research:
From Florida State University – Tropical Storms and Hurricanes: What to do after
From the State of Hawaii, Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism after the Maui wildfire – The closure of businesses in West Maui and the decrease in visitor arrivals – not only to Maui, but also to other islands across the state – will negatively affect the state’s economic recovery. The reconstruction of Lahaina will take years to complete.
Hawaii has lost population for several years in a row. It is reasonable to expect more people to move out of state due to business employment consolidation and relocation.
From Bay City Texas – Take care of your emotional health. During and after a hurricane, it is natural to experience different and strong emotions. Coping with these feelings and getting help when you need it will help you, your family, and your community recover from a disaster.
From International SOS – The immediate impact of an earthquake or hurricane to local infrastructure and communities is immense, but to avoid significant business disruption, organizations will commonly aim to resume operations as soon as possible after impact. However, resuming operations after such a disruption could actually cause more harm. It is imperative for organizations to understand the impact and develop a precise plan of how to best resume operations based on the health and safety in the affected area.
From FEMA – Before disaster strikes your business, nothing is more important than having a plan in place to protect your employees and safeguard your assets to minimize the disruption to the business.
About 25 percent of businesses do not reopen after disasters. Having an emergency disaster plan and a continuity of operations plan in place can reduce that risk and help the business recover faster. Below are tips to help businesses prepare for disasters large and small.
From my reading and research, I concluded that the community must be the priority over business. Business is made of people and requires people to purchase goods and services. If the people aren’t good, safe, physically and mentally healthy, the business won’t be either.
I talked with business owners and artists who lost everything. They are focused on restoring the community and cannot take time to open a business or create new art. I, too, lost significant business with a client at a three-day event here in Asheville in October. That program is rescheduled for February 2025 in a different state.
I volunteer at Habitat Restore in the River Arts District, which was destroyed. Habitat relies on Restore to help with funding for the Habitat homes under construction. They are anxious to reopen Restore and recognize the priorities of people’s well-being over business.
I talked with first responders. As one first responder shared, “We are burned out! People need to stay away!”
These are my opinions. I appreciate hearing yours as we move forward to make Asheville Strong.
