Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Thursday 1 augusT 2019
A25

Businesses learn hard lessons when not prepared for disaster

By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG ated. When the storm had
Associated Press passed, he realized that his
NEW YORK (AP) — When Palm Coast-based insur-
Hurricane Irma hit Puerto ance business was para-
Rico in September 2017, lyzed.
Carlos Melendez couldn't "My office was without pow-
contact the staffers or er for a week, our phones
customers of his San Juan- were down for the same
based technology firm, amount of time, many of
Wovenware. our records were on paper,
Melendez learned a lesson and without those records
that would help his busi- I was completely flying
ness during the next storm, blind," says McMillan, own-
that disaster prepared- er of Heart Life Insurance.
ness includes being able to McMillan says he could
communicate with people have used technology
when the emergency is available before the storm,
over. He quickly signed up scanning paper records
with an online messaging and turning them into
service — and got to use it electronic documents, but
two weeks later when Hur- hadn't done so. The lesson
ricane Maria decimated he learned was to get his
Puerto Rico. company up to speed on
"The amount of damage In this undated photo provided by Wovenware, Inc., Carlos Melendez, Wovenware Co-Founder business technology and
was a situation we had and COO, poses for a photo at the Wovenware office in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. reduce the risk of being
never had before here on Associated Press shut down the next time
the island," Melendez says. a storm hit. The business
But because he was now ing Melendez to find work who have lost everything." turned. Beasley realized is now paper-free and all
able to communicate with space for his staffers at oth- Moreover, his income that he needed to pull to- staffers are able to work
employees, he could de- er companies. plunged. One office was gether emergency funds remotely. And, because of
termine how they were, ar- Since then, Wovenware closed for a week, then going forward. that capability, McMillan
range to meet with those has brought in its own gen- had no income for six Some companies change has been hiring people in
able to get to the office erators, moved its opera- more weeks. Clients had their entire operations in re- distant cities like Jackson-
and let customers know tions online and issued lap- more immediate financial sponse to a disaster. When ville, Florida, and Roswell,
Wovenware was working tops to all staffers. concerns, such as rebuild- Hurricane Charley hit Flor- Georgia, making it less like-
despite the widespread Sam Beasley learned busi- ing their homes and lives, ida, in 2004, Jimmy McMil- ly he'd be completely shut
devastation and lack of nesses don't have to suffer although many later re- lan and his family evacu- down by a storm.q
power and resources. catastrophic damage to
Small businesses have al- be affected. Beasley owns
ready contended this sum- Prevention Education Pro- How major US stock indexes
mer with earthquakes in gram, with counseling cen-
Southern California and ters in Chico and Gridley,
Hurricane Barry in the Gulf California, near the town fared Wednesday
Coast and Midwest, and of Paradise that was virtu-
the most intense portions of ally destroyed in a mas-
the Atlantic hurricane and sive wildfire last November. Associated Press
Western wildfire seasons are One of Beasley's offices Stocks fell and bond yields
still ahead. But many own- was filled with smoke, but rose after the Federal Re-
ers don't prepare for po- the business also suffered serve lowered its key inter-
tentially devastating natu- in other ways Beasley never est rate for the first time in
ral disasters, leaving them expected. a decade but left investors
to learn during a crisis what "I was thinking I would con- feeling uncertain about the
they should have done dif- tinue to operate as always, likelihood of further cuts.
ferently. And even compa- but that's not true," Beasley The quarter-point cut an-
nies that do plan can be says. He quickly discovered nounced Wednesday was
unprepared for the unique that his staffers were as widely expected. What
circumstances of a particu- traumatized by the devas- wasn't: Powell's said during
lar disaster — no owner in tation as people who lost a news conference that
New Orleans could have their homes. There were the central bank was not
predicted they'd be un- more absences than usual, intending to embark on a
able to operate for months, and those employees who long cycle of cutting rates. Trader Tommy Kalikas, center, works on the floor of the New
even years, after Hurricane came to work were strug- On Wednesday: York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
Katrina turned the city and gling emotionally. The S&P 500 index dropped Associated Press
some of its suburbs into a "Don't expect your staff, 32.80 points, or 1.1%, to
ghost town in 2005. even in the mental health 2,980.38. slid 10.99 points, or 0.7%, to 4.36 points, or 0.3%.
Melendez also learned les- field, to bounce back The Dow Jones Industrial 1,574.61. For the year: The S&P 500 is
sons from Hurricane Ma- quickly and fully in a natural Average lost 333.75 points, For the week: The S&P 500 is up 473.53 points, or 18.9%.
ria. His company had no disaster," Beasley learned. or 1.2%, to 26,864.27. down 45.48 points, or 1.5%. The Dow is up 3,536.81
power for two weeks, until "All people in the region The Nasdaq composite The Dow is down 328.18 points, or 15.2%. The Nas-
the building's backup gen- experience trauma if only fell 98.19 points, or 1.2%, to points, or 1.2%. The Nasdaq daq is up 1,540.14 points, or
erator began working. But from being in the presence 8,175.42. The Russell 2000 is down 154.79 points, or 23.2%. The Russell 2000 is up
it broke down again, forc- of thousands of people index of smaller companies 1.9%. The Russell 2000 down 226.05 points, or 16.8%.q