What HR Pros Should Know About Storm Preparedness

Severe weather is heating up — and burning holes in companies’ bottom lines. 

Global business losses tied to storms hit $224 billion last year according to Moody’s 2025 Catastrophe Review, with losses driven largely by “so-called ‘secondary perils’ — including wildfires and severe convective storms.” 

Such losses have been building over the past several decades as severe weather events grew more frequent in a changing climate, according to Michael Useem, professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, who studies catastrophic and enterprise risk management. That’s left more companies “preparing for the worst but hoping for the best,” he said.

“The world is becoming more risky, but until it happens to you or some other company in your same industry, it’s more academic,” Useem said. “If you’ve been through it, if you’ve lost production or even lives in the process, that’s a learning discipline that outdoes all other forms of learning about it.”  

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Following severe storms, organizations must navigate severe disruptions to their supply lines and information systems and counsel their workforces through myriad psychological and physical challenges, said Dr. Murad Mithani, associate professor at Rutgers School of Business–Camden. But through strong preparation, “these costs can be mitigated to some extent.”

By contrast, “any attempt to engage in emergency management when the emergency is already underway generally yields suboptimal outcomes and can make recovery more difficult,” said Mithani, adding that this is “particularly true when caring for affected employees.”

Here’s what to consider when mapping out your organization’s storm response plan.

Understand the risks where your business operates

Exposure to severe storms varies greatly depending on factors such as geography, engineered spaces and building codes, Mithani noted, and best practices for guarding against such disasters differ greatly from hurricanes to wildfires to blizzards. 

Employers have to start recognizing that these threats, not just storms but other natural disasters, are increasing in frequency and intensity,” Mithani emphasized. Costs associated with these disasters have grown in recent years because “storms have become more frequent and, in many cases, more devastating,” he said. Amid highly-integrated supply chains, the higher costs of operating delays and the growing prices associated with redevelopment, “we have become increasingly vulnerable to economic losses through infrastructure damage and lost workdays.”

To guard against this, Mithani suggests employers should build an “executive philosophy” around “continuously monitoring disasters, maintaining internal readiness, and clarifying response thresholds.”

Establishing that philosophy might start with consulting local experts about the threats unique to where your business operates. Ensuring your facilities are protected against expected weather events could involve consulting with area emergency management services, first responders, and building managers to understand more about potential threats and vulnerabilities, evacuation routes, and assembling resources for emergency preparedness, Mithani recommends. 

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Form an emergency response team

Experts agree it’s critical to determine ahead of time who will be involved in decision-making and recovery efforts to ensure business continuity in the event of storm-related disruptions. 

In planning for storms, HR teams should make distinctions between essential and non-essential personnel and figure out who can be tasked with handling insurance coverage and claims, with communicating with employees and coordinating with clients, vendors, and suppliers amid likely delays and technological difficulties. 

This is work that must be led from the top of the organization, Mithani said, “both to set the tone and to promptly mobilize resources and attention.” 

Consider the kinds of questions that will likely be raised and do your best to answer them: “What’s the best way out? Whom should we contact? What should we take with us as we move to a safer place? Who has the authority to decide if a facility should be closed? Who makes the decisions if key leaders are inaccessible?”

In the future, “Chief Disaster Recovery Officer may become part of the business lexicon,” Mithani predicted.  “When it does, it could make it easier for the organization as a whole to come together and reduce both its vulnerability to and the impact of storms.” 

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Safeguard your infrastructure

When it comes to infrastructure, planning and the rapid mobilization of alternatives can be particularly helpful, Mithani said. Consider taking steps such as sourcing multiple potential suppliers for critical components, alternate warehousing options, and backing up information systems and communications.  

Make sure you weigh the potential physical and technological fallout to your systems. Map out plans for ensuring that critical data will remain secure in an emergency and consider alternatives in case key facilities are damaged or destroyed.

Make arrangements to support your employees

Since it may be difficult to communicate during a disaster, it’s key to ensure employee address and contact information are up to date. It may be beneficial to set up a crisis hotline or inbox that workers could use to check in or ask for help, Mithani suggested, noting that “teams that are able to check on and assist their members often make it easier to deal with the emotional and economic pain that comes with the loss of loved ones, injuries, or property damage.”

It’s important to specify leave and telework policies during weather emergencies and figure out if payroll could still be administered during a long-term disruption or if alternate measures are required. Consider how you might provide alternate transportation to offices and worksites if employees' regular routes were inaccessible, or where alternative worksites could be set up if necessary.

Human resources teams may also want to consider what steps can be taken to ease pressure on the job for workers in the wake of devastating storms, such as temporary suspension of sales or other performance targets, Mithani suggested. Revised work schedules that allow for part-time or job-sharing could also offer some relief for workers under difficult conditions. 

“Employers who rely on actions and not just words, prioritize early visits, financial support, remote-work options, and continue with follow-up visits help build resilience, strengthen internal connectedness within the organization and foster loyalty,” he said.

Employers may want to consider investing in counseling resources and relief funds that their workforces can turn to in times of crisis. This is another key measure that’s much easier to handle in advance than in the throes of storm fallout according to Lori Rogers, vice president of corporate operations at Emergency Assistance Foundation, which partners with organizations on emergency relief funds. 

“Disasters don’t discriminate, whether it’s an hourly employee or a senior executive,” Rogers said. “It can cause financial distress for people because tornados can flatten a home, rains can cause a roof leak. It’s unfortunately never-ending and you want to take care of your own.”  

Taylor Telford is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.