The Business Implications of Hurricanes

As Florida braces for the first hurricane of the precocious 2005 tropical storm season, I thought I'd pull out an article from 2003 on what hurricanes mean for local economies. Among the interesting questions that reporter Rod Kurtz raises:

- Could your business proceed without interruption even if one or more of your facilities were damaged in a hurricane?

- What if your company survives a storm, but an important vendor or customer sustains heavy damage?

- What if storms leave the business standing but damage the homes of key employees?

- Finally, what if, in the aftermath of a storm, the demographics of your region change? How will that change demand for products and services in the area?

To read the original story, click here.

Mike Hofman was previously editor of Inc.com and a deputy editor at Inc. magazine, which he joined in 1996. The site was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Digital Media in 2010, and was named the best business website by Folio Magazine. In 2006, Hofman was part of a team of writers nominated for a Webby Award for best business blog. He lives in New York City. @mikehofman