Impacts of Hurricane Sandy on My Business Flaxy Bank - Case Study Example

Author’s Name Instructors’ Name Course Date Hurricane Sandy Research Paper Introduction The occurrence of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 left an incredible mark in the Northeast United States. Hurricane Sandy, which was grouped under category-3 storm-ravaged towns, people, as well as businesses. The hurricane swept through the Atlantic coast flooding streets, subway lines, tunnels, and cutting power lines in and around the cities. The Superstorm Hurricane Sandy took place from October 22, 2012, to October 31, 2012 (Miles, 26). The following paper will discuss the roles played by various stakeholders such as government, financial organizations, businesses or utilities and individuals, before, during and after the storm struck. At the same time, the paper will look at the overall impact of Hurricane Sandy and the lessons learned in the process. Brief Overview of the Hurricane Sandy As noted above, Hurricane Sandy left an indelible mark in the United States due to its massive destruction it caused. Hurricane Sandy was a super storm that extended over an area of over 1,000 miles in diameter. Analysts observed that Hurricane Sandy was the most destructive and deadliest storm in the 2012 hurricane season (Miles, 55). Additionally, in the history of the United States, Hurricane Sandy was the second-costliest hurricane. In the United States alone, Hurricane Sandy killed 117 people, making America the worst hit. However, it was estimated that the storm killed 286 people globally. Further, millions of people were affected across five Caribbean nations, which included Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. Moreover, more than 200,000 homes were destroyed including cutting power in small and major cities in the affected zones, where more than 8 million residents experienced power shortages. For example, in the New York City, around U.S $19 billion worth of destruction were done and more than 50 billion on the coastal fronts. Roles Played by Different Stakeholders Notably, the government played a crucial role through FEMA in taking actions before to Hurricane Sandy. The first part of the Government was to ensure that the data forecasts were provided to the public. It must be noted that government satellites, as well as airplanes, are responsible for collecting the data on the strength and condition storms. On the other hand, the government scientists are expected to assist in the development and application of useful models that predict the scale and scope of the storm. At the same time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service, and other government agencies were also tasked with providing information to the public (Gregory, 24). Before the Hurricane Sandy, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Washington declared a state of emergency, and people were advised to evacuate. During the Hurricane Sandy, FEMA played an instrumental role by offering an efficient and effective response to the destruction caused by the super storm. The first reaction was to ensure that thousands of homes destroyed by the storm were accounted for as well as people who were displaced. In this process, experienced and skilled staff members were ready to assist the victims. Therefore, FEMA introduced the strategy dubbed “STEP” (Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power Pilot Program), to allow residents return to their homes and providing shelters for the completion of the permanent restructuring. After the Hurricane Sandy, in conjunction with NGOs, the National Guard, as well as private sectors, the government helped in funding by setting aside over U.S $ 60 billion, which was to be used in the disaster recovery program by assisting everyone who was affected by the Hurricane Sandy. Currently, the money has played a critical role in the rebuilding of the affected areas by bringing back the infrastructural facilities in the regions. However, the government put more emphasis on the worst hit zones such as the New Jersey. On the other hand, before Hurricane Sandy, businesses role was first to provide security to all of their employees through evacuating them to safer zones that would not be hit (Miles, 23). Therefore, any businesses that were located in the projected impact areas of the Hurricane Sandy was required to close down the central plants or move their businesses elsewhere. In some instance, the business buildings were fortified to handle the impacts of Hurricane Sandy, which worked quite useful during the super storm. Additionally, during the storm employees were advised to work from their homes or in safer areas. Over, they would return to their workstations or the central plants after the Hurricane Sandy was over. The destruction of Hurricane Sandy to businesses was enormous, which made them put the RTO into effect. Further, other businesses recovered through compensation from insurance companies while some lost out completely. Financial organizations also contributed to the recovery process. For example, institutions such as Goldman Sachs provided charging and water stations, while GM offered trucks and financial assistance to the victims (Kresh, 26). On the other hand, some banks such as TD Bank and Wells Fargo waived the previous credit and ATM card payment fees (Miles, 37). At the same time, insurance companies did their best to ensure the restoration and compensation payments to necessitate rebuilding g of homes and provision of medical services for the victims. Initial statistics showed that close to 50 billion were spent by insurance companies on the New York City and east coast. Further, individuals were also helpful in taking actions before the super storm by volunteering in the evacuating processes from the east coast as well as providing shelter for the people (Gregory, 37). It must also be known that some individuals had insurance policies, which played a critical role in covering them from such catastrophic events. The majority of the victims were however not able to receive any assistance from the insurance companies since they lacked insurance policies. Additionally, at the individual level, people also prepared for the coming of Hurricane Sandy by ensuring that basic requirements were available in advanced such as stocking water, food, wood for fires, buying of generators for power, and any other essentials that would assist them to survive. During the Hurricane Sandy, most people were able to use the save resources thus minimizing the number of victims that needed financial or material resources. The individual efforts of evacuating the area before and during the storm also played a critical role in the process (Gregory, 04). After the Hurricane Sandy, individuals were instrumental in ensuring that life was back to normal. Although it was difficult to assess every individual effort in rebuilding one’s life, it must be appreciated that insurance companies helped people to pick up by offering finances and restart their businesses or restore their homes. Finally, financial institutions also helped to facilitate the financial flow to the victims and other players. For instance, as indicated above, many people were able to prepare in advance through saving their financial resources in banks. Therefore, during the super storm, people were able to withdraw and take soft loans from banks and other financial institutions to cater for their survival. Additionally, insurance companies had to compensate the destruction to their customers. This would not be possible without the use of financial institutions. Impacts on the Businesses As indicated above, Hurricane Sandy also affected business in varying degrees (Gregory, 29). The super storm made many businesses that were located on the east coast and some affected zones shut down while others were destroyed as the Hurricane Sandy passed. Notably, many organizations lost revenue due to the closing of the business. On the other side, the insurance money that were to be received by business people took much time than required or expected, making businesses take the time to recover from the loss. Although some business continued to function during the Hurricane Sandy such as hospitals, most did not operate. Additionally, the stock market were adversely affected since they did not open for approximately two days, where they were re-opened on Wednesday of October 30th, 2012 (Tucker,32). This meant that any services or financial business that was depended on the stock market were highly affected for two days while others were forced to shut down as well. In this connection, many employees who depended on such business had to rest for few days as institutions suffered the loss of markets. Impacts of Hurricane Sandy on my business (Flaxy Bank) Based on the above observation, my company (Flaxy Ltd.) was also affected by the Hurricane Sandy. As a financial institution that is involved in the customer’s deposits and loans, the business was to be closed for more than one week as a precautionary measure to minimize the bad debts that the company would have experienced. Therefore, Flaxy Ltd also incurred some loss for one week, which was manifested by low revenue in November 2012. The total estimates of the loss were around $45,000. To ensure that the company experienced minimal loss, and there was no loss of life, all employees were evacuated, as the building was not hurricane proof. The central production unit had to be closed as was required by the government. Based on this, employees could not be a to work from home as the unit is essential for all business operations. This meant that the employees had to wait until the hurricane Sandy was over to come back to work, which highly affected the institution. Lessons Learned from Hurricane Sandy There are many lessons from the Hurricane Sandy including the realization of the existence and effects of global warming in the world. Global warming plays the biggest role in contributing to the natural disasters across the world. This calls for concerted efforts in dealing with the challenges related to global warming. At the same time, all stakeholders need to be well prepared before such storms strike such as ensuring that fortifying buildings to minimize the impacts. Additionally, community organizations need to be involved in the emergency management programs, provision of training for various groups and setting good communication network. Such measures will be instrumental in ensuring that recovery process is fastened as well reducing the effects of super storms in future and dealing with any emergencies in communities. Further, the Hurricane Sandy also showed that there is a need for ensuring that Red Cross is infused and integrated into the community to necessitate rescue mission and other emergency services before, during, and after disasters. In the case of Hurricane Sandy, the coast guard and the National Guard excelled in places where FEMA failed in its overall preparedness and response efforts (Tucker,36). Therefore, to ensure that success continues in the future requires that both Guards receive the resources and funds that they need. Overall, more responsibility should be returned to the states regarding the disaster response and recovery. Status after the Hurricane Sandy Although there are efforts to remove all compensation claims, three years after the Hurricane Sandy, some victims continue battling with insurance companies for their money, which have affected the restoration process of individual’s homes and businesses (Miles, 56). At the same time, the low-lying areas in Coney and Red Hook Islands are still waiting to be reconstructed. A closer look at such areas shows that temporary boilers, as well as other equipment, are still being used to keep some businesses and homes alive. However, most parts of New York City and the city itself have entirely been reconstructed although the locals vividly remember the impacts of the Hurricane Sandy. In parts of the New Orleans, the reconstruction process has taken time due to slow processes of compensation and legal aspects. The development of new law and regulations as described is expected to play a critical role in completing the reconstruction so that life can return to normal among the residents including businesses. Development of Laws and Regulations The occurrence of Hurricane Sandy contributed to the introduction of new laws and regulations, especially in New Jersey as well as other parts of the country near the east coast new. To ensure more lives and property are protected during super storms, the state of New Jersey adopted emergency amendments to the Flood Hazard Control Act (Tucker, 62). The new amendments are set to provide impetus to the process of setting the minimum elevation standards for the reconstruction of buildings and residential houses in areas that are prone to natural hazards which is based on the Division of Land Use Regulation. Further, in December 2014, FEMA released its new mapping on an advisory basis, which is expected to guide the areas to be affected by the new policies to be developed or implemented. On the other hand, a comprehensive Hurricane Sandy legislation was passed by the Senate, which provides relief to the victims and communities that were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. The legislation, which integrates 22 bills that allow for financial support needed by businesses, homeowners, school districts, local governments, and many others during hurricane disasters. Conclusion Conclusively, Hurricane Sandy will never be forgotten in the eyes of Americans due to its massive destruction and loss of lives and property it caused. However, the super storm was instrumental in bringing changes in the management of disasters by necessitating improved development and implementation of new laws and regulations. However, more will need to be done to minimize the impact of storms in future. Works Cited Gregory, Josh. The Superstorm Hurricane Sandy, 2013. Print. Kresh, Lahman. Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York: Building Performance Observations, Recommendations, and Technical Guidance. Washington, D.C.: The Agency, 2013. Print. Miles, Kathryn. Superstorm: Nine Days Inside Hurricane Sandy, 2014. Print. Tucker, Lorayne. Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy and Progress Update. , 2014. Print. Read More