Emergency response to a hurricane or other maritime disaster cannot be an afterthought. Effective response requires deliberate planning before an incident occurs, followed by coordinated, strategic action afterward. For individuals and businesses alike, piecing things back together after a marine casualty can be complex, time-sensitive, and resource-intensive.
Continue Reading Maritime Incident Response: Best Practices for a High-Stakes Environment
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and wildfires can strike with little warning, bringing business operations to a halt and deeply affecting the lives of employees. In recent years, we’ve seen how quickly a crisis can disrupt not just infrastructure but also the human fabric of a workplace. For employers, the stakes are high: protecting people, maintaining productivity, and ensuring legal compliance — all while navigating uncertainty.
To minimize disruption and support recovery, businesses must proactively develop and communicate clear disaster response strategies. This includes crisis management protocols, employee communication plans, and recovery frameworks that prioritize both operational continuity and employee well-being. A well-prepared organization can respond swiftly, reduce confusion, and help employees return to work safely and confidently — even in the face of personal loss.
Continue Reading Ready, Set, Recover: Building a Crisis-Ready Workplace
In Florida and other hurricane-prone areas of the Gulf Coast and Southeast, hurricane preparation is part of the job. For construction projects, the risks are immediate and costly: Unfinished structures, unsecured materials, and critical-path equipment can be destroyed in hours. Every year, contractors and owners learn — often the hard way — that planning for a storm in the middle of one is too late. The time to build resilience is before the first tropical storm forms.
For projects under construction, risk management starts in the contract. The agreement should do more than recite a standard force majeure clause. It should clearly allocate responsibilities for securing the site before a storm and for resuming work after. Those obligations should be detailed, measurable, and realistic for the type of work being performed.
Continue Reading Building Resilience into Construction Contracts Before Hurricane Season
Preparing for a natural disaster is crucial for all businesses, but a small business may face unique challenges such as document loss, remote work, and recovery.
From tax documents to employee records, keeping documents from being lost is an important step in preparing for a natural disaster. The IRS provides helpful guidelines on how a small business can prepare for a disaster, including keeping a disaster loss workbook (Publication 584-B) that a business can use to inventory its business equipment. Further, having important tax documents such as federal 941s, 940s, 944s and W-2s and state sales tax returns in an electronic database that is backed up regularly can prevent these documents from being lost in a disaster. The same goes for payroll and employee documents — keeping an electronic copy of them (e.g., pay information, employee emergency contacts, pay period information) will provide security in times of a disaster. For any documents that are kept in physical form, it is important to ensure that they are kept secure in a locked filing cabinet in a locked room, both in times of a disaster and in the regular course of business. While certain physical files may be necessary, it is advisable that all employee-related files and information be backed up and saved on some secure electronic platform that can be accessed after a natural disaster, even if you maintain those physical files in your office.
Continue Reading How Small Businesses Can Prepare and Recover from a Natural Disaster
The devastating floods that struck Texas in July provide an example of how emergency management and intergovernmental coordination operate under extreme conditions. As torrential rainfall triggered catastrophic flooding across multiple counties beginning on July 2, the response highlighted disaster response systems at the county, state, and federal levels.
The emergency response began at the state level with proactive measures, marked by warnings to state emergency response teams to be prepared. On July 2, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) activated state emergency response resources in anticipation of increased flooding threats in parts of West and Central Texas. As conditions worsened, TDEM escalated its response on July 3, increasing the readiness level of the Texas State Emergency Operations Center to Level II (escalated response) and activating additional state emergency response resources as portions of West and Central Texas prepared for continued heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding.
Continue Reading Texas Floods Emergency Response: A Review of Intergovernmental Emergency Coordination
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its outlook for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season predicts an above-normal season with a 60% chance of exceeding typical storm activity between June 1 and November 30. Forecasters anticipate 13 to 19 named storms, including 6-10 hurricanes, with 3-5 potentially reaching major hurricane status of Category 3 or higher. NOAA maintains a 70% confidence level in these predictions.
By their very nature, disasters are unpredictable. But it is possible to prepare for and recover from such unforeseen events. During a crisis, information is a businesses’ most important tool and clear, timely client communications are our top priority. Jones Walker’s cross-disciplinary Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Client Team advises companies, not-for-profit organizations, and individuals as they prepare for, respond to, and recover from unforeseen crises. We understand the myriad legal issues that arise when drafting, communicating, and implementing disaster-preparedness plans, and have extensive experience representing clients as they work through the aftermath of a major event.
Continue Reading NOAA Expects Busier-Than-Normal 2025 Hurricane Season
A hurricane, natural disaster, or any other crisis in the workplace can bring a business to a screeching halt and devastate the lives of a business’s most valuable asset — its employees.
To minimize the impact of a natural disaster, companies should have various plans in place before disaster strikes, such as a crisis management plan, a communications plan, and a disaster response and recovery plan. These plans must take into account the effect a catastrophe may have on workers and include ways to help impacted employees return to work as soon as practical to ensure continued productivity of the workplace even in the face of personal loss. Any enacted plan should also consider the application of relevant federal and state laws to ensure compliance and avoid any employment-related lawsuits or any agency enforcement actions following a natural disaster.
Continue Reading Planning for a Catastrophe – Tips for Ensuring Proper Communications
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1, and TSR (Tropical Storm Risk) forecasts 17 to 25 named storms this year. In weathering these storms, many businesses will face property losses, often accompanied by business income losses. Most commercial property policies incorporate business interruption coverage and extra expense insurance. The complexity of a business interruption claim, however, combined with the disruption of cash flow to pay continuing expenses creates a difficult scenario for business owners in these situations.
In general, business interruption and extra expense losses may be covered when they are caused by physical loss or damage to covered property, other covered conditions such as damage to a “dependent business,” or an order of the civil authority, such as an evacuation order, as defined in the policy. There may also be limitations on coverage, such as for power loss occurring outside the covered property, among others.
Continue Reading Preparing a Business Interruption Claim Best Practices
The annual hurricane season is once again upon us. With the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration’s prediction of a higher-than-average active season, now is the time for businesses to review their internal policies and make any necessary preparations should a storm impact your area.
By their very nature, disasters are unpredictable. But it is possible to prepare for and recover from such unforeseen events. During a crisis, information is a businesses’ most important tool and clear, timely client communications are our top priority. Jones Walker’s cross-disciplinary Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Client Team advises companies, not-for-profit organizations, and individuals as they prepare for, respond to, and recover from unforeseen crises. We understand the myriad legal issues that arise when drafting, communicating, and implementing disaster-preparedness plans, and have extensive experience representing clients as they work through the aftermath of a major event.
Continue Reading Natural Disaster Preparedness – Serving Clients Through Disasters
As they weather this year’s storm season, many businesses will experience property damage, often accompanied by business income losses. Most commercial general liability policies will provide business interruption coverage and extra expense insurance as an adjunct to property coverage. However, the complexity of a business interruption claim coupled with a pressing need for operating capital