The Need for a Disaster Plan
In our last blog, we blogged about flooding in Louisiana. In this blog we’d like to point out that in an update on June 13, the IRS added to its page regarding disaster preparedness. The IRS wants to make it clear, disaster prepping is no longer for those that drive old 4x4s and store beans and rice, preparing is for everyone.
The IRS understands that businesses in this country and all over the world face many business perils in their day to day operations. From changing fuel prices, to commodity prices, to clients not paying their bills or declaring bankruptcy, keeping a business as a going concern is a challenge for any industry. Business people deal with these issues every day. However, there are threats beyond the day-to-day and year-to-year challenges and the IRS wants to make that abundantly clear.
Louisiana experienced widespread flooding earning a disaster declaration from FEMA, but that was not the only disaster declaration by FEMA in August. There were 15 total, ranging from all across the west to Wisconsin, Kentucky and Louisiana. Statistically, this country experiences 1000 tornadoes per year. On average, there are 10 named storms in the Atlantic with over half of those becoming hurricanes. Mississippi has an average of 875,000 lightning strikes per year, or 18.4 per square mile, Louisiana has over 900,000 lightning strikes, an average 19.7 per square mile. And watch out Florida! Florida has 1.4 million lightning strikes per year. That is 24.7 lightning strikes per square mile. Combine that with an average of 35 earthquakes worldwide per week with the ever present forest fires in the Northwest, and anyone can come to the conclusion that we live in a shooting gallery! Follow the guidance given by the IRS and get prepped!
