Given the increasing awareness of natural disasters and the disruption they can cause to our daily lives, have you taken the time to learn from these experiences and adapt? Are you better prepared for the next event that is bound to happen?

Most recently, for my business, Hurricane Helene crashed through our county and took out power, trees, roads, and internet access in September 2024. Most companies need power and the internet, but even more so when you are a custom software and website company like Robojuice. Clients are typically understanding of life events like hurricanes but they really appreciate that you have thought ahead to plan for contingencies where possible.

Here are some steps we took during those few weeks.

Power
We ensured we had a generator (or two or three) at the home offices so basic appliances like refrigerators and freezers were maintained. Now, our perishable food supply anxiety is quelled. And charging devices like laptops, phones, tablets, POS components, earbuds, coffee makers, and other basics to get the job done better. Also, having a few portable power chargers like a Nimble is a good idea.

Internet
We found it wise to have our home office internet and corporate office internet providers to be different. Ex: Spectrum for one, AT&T for the other. The reason is, Spectrum took weeks to get customers back online, whereas, in our area, AT&T was up in a few days. We also invested in Starlink systems. Similar to the generator backup approach, we have a third option, which we did end up using for our Spectrum office outage area. The Starlink was simple and worked great, too.

Food and Water
I am not going full prepper mode here, but having more than the average of three days of groceries and hydration is plain smart. You should have enough for your family not to be stressed during the extended power outages and ensuing stampedes at the local grocery stores.

Fuel
My family policy is not to have our vehicle fuel gauges go below half a tank. In our area, due to the extended outages, there were long lines and even fights (mostly verbal, some more physical) at gas stations due to unprepared people. Gas for generators as well as vehicles was a local crisis; gas stations even ran out a few times. Avoid the unnecessary drama by having enough gas for a week or more. Use some from your full vehicle gas tank to fuel your generators, or even have a few extra gallon tanks on hand. Add a few propane tanks to your mix, so you have a generator fuel option and can grill anything you want for hot food.

Fuel X2
A developer we work with ran power from his electric vehicle to power his coffee maker in the mornings. Pretty smart. Also, think of alternative power solutions like battery generators and propane options. Solar panels to charge batteries and generator batteries are also a good idea.