Missing in most companies’ disaster preparations: a plan for where key employees are housed while they keep the business running
Fort Worth, TX – June 1, 2011 -- A perfect storm is brewing: U.S. companies have less tolerance than ever for downtime, while weather experts predict a higher-than-average hurricane season along the Gulf of Mexico, with the biggest risk in Louisiana and Texas.

Companies located in disaster-prone regions like the Gulf spend considerable time and expense on IT infrastructure and insurance to ensure business continuity when a hurricane strikes. The huge disruptions caused by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Wilma – with economic losses totaling more than $139 billion – jolted many companies into action.

Still, the human element is often ignored in companies’ disaster plans – in particular, housing.  Where do mission-critical employees live during the days, weeks, and even months when their own homes are flooded or without power? Where do their loved ones go? 

Executives and key employees need to be housed near a company’s recovery site to ensure business continuity, but few companies plan for this.  Why pay for a block of hotel rooms inland when you’re not even sure where a hurricane will make landfall, and how fierce it will be once it hits?

Michelle Lowther, principal of Continuity Housing and an expert...