Companies need disaster plans that are as detailed as their business plans to be ready for storms such as Hurricane Earl, which brushed the state late last week, and other catastrophes, several experts said.

The plans need to consider issues from ways to staff offices and stores when employees are unable to make it into work to insurance coverage to whether a business or its landlord is responsible for repairing damages.

Safeguarding records was a commonly mentioned issue. Companies denied access to critical data for 48 to 72 hours might never fully recover, said Katina Blue, director of business continuity and disaster recovery for N.C. State University.

“The first thing they should do is make sure they have a plan in place for how they can protect their assets, such as their infrastructure and their vital records, their computer data files, especially any type of printed material like manuals or books that could get wet,” she said.

Records protection ranges from backing up computer files to an off-site system and ensuring the safety of printed paperwork, said Ed Ormsby, director of the Edgecombe Community College Small Business Center.

“Nobody does it, probably, but everybody should keep critical records in a watertight, fireproof container,” he said. “Any business should keep critical records in those.”

Blue agreed.

“Any type of contact list they may have, especially vendors they deal with or clients they deal with,” she said. “They want to back that data up. If you do have a disaster, you still have to reconstitute business. ... Any type of client files they might have should be safeguarded.”

Other steps are as simple as ensuring that records kept at a business are positioned above the reach of rising water, especially if a building has a history of flooding.

“Maybe (put them) on top of file cabinets,” Blue said. “Get anything that is vital or irreplaceable, and move those things to higher ground or attic areas.”

Something as simple as turning on the lights after a storm might be a challenge, said Fred Brooks, director of Nash Community College’s Small Business Center. An electric generator might keep the business running.

“If you can keep running your business or have power when other people don’t, it might be a competitive edge during that time,” he said.

If a business leases its building, the firm’s owner needs to check if the property manager has an emergency-response plan.

“Because they are paying rent, they may be able to be moved by (the landlord) to another location,” she said. “If a (landlord) doesn’t provide it, you need a plan in place of how to move employees — whether its teleworking or moving them to other working space. You need a plan in place of where employees can alternatively work in event of loss of facility or a long power outage.”

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Even having employees report to work after a storm is a challenge. Businesses need to plan for a 20 percent to 40 percent reduction in work force after a storm.

“What happens in disasters is a lot of people have family obligations,” Blue said. “Employees can’t come to work. They live in rural areas or have small kids who can’t come to school. The business owners need to have plans in place for transfer of knowledge.”

That means cross-training employees to handle several duties if need be.

“At least document crucial functions of the business and how you would alternatively do that (job) if you don’t have a facility, building, power or technology,” she said.

Have a call list of all employees so you can communicate with them after the storm, she also said, and a phone number employees can call each day to hear at least a recorded message updating them on the company’s status.

Rich Cheney, the owner of a State Farm insurance agency on South Wesleyan Boulevard that was flooded by Hurricane Floyd in 1999, said the water destroyed much of his paperwork.

“But fortunately, State Farm keeps a lot of electronic records so I was able to get all the customer information I needed,” he said.

He urged business owners to talk to their insurance agent and weigh the risks and benefits of carrying flood insurance on the property.

“It’s a matter of how you feel about risk, and whether its something you want to pay for or not,” he said.

Getting a business ready for a storm or disaster is not that different from its owner taking care of a key matter outside work, Brooks said.

“You pretty much prepare for a hurricane like you would for your own house,” he said.

Life Editor Ross Chandler contributed to this report.