What Disasters Might Affect Your Facility or Agency?

Some areas will not experience earthquakes or tsunamis. Similarly, some residents might never be exposed to wildfires or to animal products that have anthrax bacteria.§ However, some disasters can occur anywhere, such as power failures, fires caused by lightning, and arson. Likewise, practically no computer is immune to all computer viruses. If a virus enters your facility's computer, you might be left without access to computerized records or online business transactions.

Determine all the disasters that can affect your facility or agency.

Include in your risk assessment:

  • Natural and man-made disasters;
  • Intentional and unintentional disasters;
  • Internal and external disasters, and
  • Disasters that might occur with or without warning.

Include not just disasters that directly impact your facility or agency. Also include disasters that directly impact only your surrounding area or the critical infrastructure that supports your facility or agency (such as roads, utility poles, etc.)

Consider questions such as:

  1. Do you have residents, individuals, or clients who smoke?
  2. Does your facility have oxygen cylinders?
  3. Can a fire in a nearby house or building spread to your facility?
  4. Can a wildfire reach your facility?
  5. Is your facility near a site that has hazardous materials (such as a chemical, nuclear, or industrial plant)?
  6. Do vehicles or trains transport hazardous materials (such as chlorine gas) near your facility?
  7. Is there a natural gas pipeline near your facility?
  8. Can a land slide place debris on roads that reach your facility?
  9. Can a disaster leave your facility surrounded by polluted water?
  10. Is your facility in a concentrated urban environment that might be the target of airborne bio-terrorism?
  11. Does the plan include disaster such as heating and cooling systems, power outage, explosion, and bomb threats?
  12. Are you located in a flood zone area?
  13. Have you plan for an epidemic, air contamination or infestation?
  14. Are you in a hurricane evacuation zone? (To find out whether you are in a hurricane evacuation zone, you may dial 211.)

Maps of hurricane risk areas in Texas for:

Your local emergency management coordinator might have information on disasters that can affect your facility or agency.