Navigating the Aftermath: Resources for rebuilding and reopening

By Karen Owens
Publisher

Disasters and severe storms can disrupt a business in minutes, but the right preparation ensures your doors stay open. Following insights shared by local and state leaders at the Georgetown County Hurricane Season Business & Industry Prep Day in June, this four-part series provides small businesses and nonprofits with actionable tools to spot operational risks, draft continuity plans, and build long-term resilience. Last week, we looked at regularly testing your plan before an emergency takes place. This week we shift to managing the aftermath of an actual event.

The hours and days immediately following a severe storm or flood can be overwhelming. You may be checking on employees, assessing property damage, contacting vendors, responding to customers or clients, and trying to determine when it is safe to reopen. Having a recovery plan—and knowing where to turn for help—can make that process faster and less stressful.

Recovery is not just about repairing a building. It is about restoring the people, systems, communications, and services that allow your organization to operate. For small businesses and nonprofits, a thoughtful recovery process can help reduce downtime, protect relationships, and support the larger community as it begins to rebuild. 

Step 1: Leverage Available Support

You do not have to rebuild alone. Ready.gov offers business resources and emergency planning guidance that include continuity planning, crisis communications, emergency response, and IT disaster recovery. The U.S. Small Business Administration also provides disaster recovery guidance, counseling resources, and information on financial assistance that may be available after a declared disaster.

South Carolina businesses should also be aware of the SC Business Reentry Program. The program allows eligible businesses to request access to areas under curfew or evacuation order before the general public so they can assess damage, restore operations, and help communities recover more quickly. Registration is free, takes less than five minutes, and results in a Memorandum of Agreement that is valid for three years. Access decisions remain local and depend on current safety conditions.

• Business recovery resources: Use checklists, recovery frameworks, and preparedness toolkits to organize next steps and avoid overlooking critical decisions.
• Local business assistance: Contact trusted partners such as Small Business Development Centers, chambers of commerce, or local economic development offices for guidance and referrals.
• Financial recovery options: After a declared disaster, review available assistance programs and gather the records you may need, such as insurance information, damage documentation, payroll records, and financial statements.

Step 2: Communicate Clearly and Restore Critical Systems

Getting back to business requires clear communication. Employees need to know whether they should report to work, work remotely, or wait for further instructions. Customers, clients, donors, and vendors need to know your operating status, temporary hours, service limitations, and alternate ways to reach you. A crisis communications plan helps ensure those updates are accurate, timely, and consistent.

Technology recovery is also essential. If flooding, power surges, or equipment damage affect your computers, servers, phone systems, or cloud access, follow your IT disaster recovery plan before bringing systems back online. Ready.gov recommends identifying critical applications, backing up essential data, prioritizing restoration, and testing recovery procedures periodically so the plan works when needed.

Reopening may happen in stages. Focus first on employee safety, essential services, customer communication, and financial documentation. Once immediate needs are addressed, review what the storm revealed about your preparedness. In the final article in this four-part series, we will discuss how to keep your continuity plan current so it remains useful year after year.

For disaster updates and business support, SC Commerce identifies Emergency Support Function 24 as the state’s dedicated function for assisting business and industry during emergencies. Businesses with questions about reentry can contact [email protected], and organizations interested in business and industry disaster updates can use the ESF-24 contact channels promoted by state emergency management partners.

Use this QR Code to sign up for the ESF-24 newsletter list to receive quarterly non-disaster information as well as time-sensitive disaster alerts, as it happens.