Eleven weather and climate events with losses exceeding $1 billion (USD) hit the US in the first five months of 2024 according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In an August report, Swiss Re estimated that global insured losses from natural catastrophes were at USD $60 billion (USD) after the first half of the year, 62% above the ten-year average. With NOAA projecting an above-normal 2024 Atlantic hurricane season (June 1 to November 30), these amounts are certain to grow exponentially.

Extreme weather — from blizzards to hurricanes to wildfires — wreaks havoc on businesses in every region of the country, with damage having a lasting effect. With weather and climate events increasing the frequency and severity, most businesses will experience losses related to weather and climate events at some point.

In fact, according to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Security, 40% of small businesses do not reopen after a severe weather event. This is in part due to a failure to have an actionable plan in place. As we discussed in Step Up Your Disaster Preparedness, Don’t Wait for the News Report, organizations can get tripped up when there’s confusion over who should act and what those actions should be during a weather crisis. Without clear plans, practice, and timely alerts, critical resources may fail to execute. 

Origami Risk’s cloud-based risk management information system (RMIS) helps your organization make weather preparedness a priority. With proximity search feature, flexible data integration, and consolidated external events module, you’ll be able to quickly identify major weather risks and effectively communicate how key parties can take action. 

Identify at-risk locations with integrated weather feeds and proximity searching 

Local and federal agencies can provide critical data for preparedness. Origami Risk’s flexible platform integrates with a number of these sources to feed alerts directly to your system. For example, you can tap into data from both the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) earthquake feed and the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS), which monitors volcanoes, floods, cyclones, and more. Drawing from this data, Origami Risk also helps you visualize if a facility — set up as a location in the system — is in the path of a severe weather event or indicated in any other warning or alert. 

As discussed in Using RMIS Technology to Address Unexpected Challenges in Natural Disaster Risk Management, “integrating these alert feeds into trigger-based distribution risks shorten response times and ensures that those responsible for executing plans have the most timely data available.” Using feeds also eliminates the need to receive updates from inside affected areas, which can be challenging during a crisis. Origami Risk’s external events module gives risk practitioners the ability to create tasks and notes, send a text message, generate and send a report, or create a new survey assignment — in addition to sending a tailored email. Origami Risk can then trigger real-time alerts to an associated distribution list and new enhancements provide even more flexibility to tailor the body of the communication, recipients, and workflows, to make sure everyone is fully prepared to act when the time comes. 

Use audit technology to fine-tune communication, before and after an event 

Long before meteorologists warn of severe weather, make sure your organization has a plan in place. (We discuss in detail how to assess your risk and create a management plan in Finding Added Value in Your RMIS: Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery.) 

If you already have a plan, make sure it’s up-to-date so you don’t waste crucial time carrying out procedures that no longer apply or chasing down the wrong contacts. Conducting regular audits is the best way to evaluate the strength and feasibility of your plan. Audits will determine if: 

• plans are easy to explain and follow 

• key parties know their roles 

• all contact information is current 

Origami Risk simplifies implementing audits, monitoring progress, and even automating alerts for corrective measures when results do not meet a particular standard. 

Support for business continuity efforts 

After a major weather event, a RMIS can support business continuity opportunities, as well. Amid potentially chaotic conditions, the same functionality used to collect risk assessments can help gather crucial information for the recovery process, such as reopen dates, estimates related to inventory loss and physical damage, clean-up expenses, and potential payroll exposure. This data can inform where resources are most needed and which parties must get to work first. 

Employees in affected areas can upload photos to an Origami Risk portal and add comments that will help provide clarity on next steps, too. Origami Risk’s sketch technology allows for adding key annotations to images and diagrams, providing better data to decision makers, which yields more educated plans of action for recovery. In the event of a power outage, this technology is available on mobile devices. 

Such was the case for Compass Group USA, whose risk management team collected business interruption and property damage details in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The storms displaced employees and rendered many facilities non-operational. By using Origami Risk’s mobile forms, however, communication remained strong and the data kept rolling in, which ultimately made for a more coordinated recovery effort. 

Conclusion: The right RMIS can help you to prevent the worst outcomes 

Major weather events and natural disasters can be unpredictable and extremely costly, putting employees in danger and threatening key businesses operations. But using the right RMIS can help prevent some of the worst outcomes by identifying locations likely to be impacted by severe weather before it hits and communicating to stakeholders the appropriate real-time and follow-up actions. 

To learn more about how RMIS functionalities in Origami Risk can help your organization be prepared for severe weather, contact us.