Flood at 78 RPM

The bad news: A pipe broke in our building. Our building flooded, resulting in a lot of water damage to our equipment and records.

The good news: Thankfully, the staff just finished reviewing its Disaster Preparedness plan last week! First of all, as the coordinator of our recovery team, I called the building and facilities staff to turn off the water. I then used our phone tree to communication started. Since our operation only has a few employees, this didn't take too long.

Our designated media spokesperson typed up a statement about the damage, and sent copies to all of our current donors. She would have read this statement to any reporters who asked about the flood, but no one was particularly interested in it (we are a private, low-profile business, not a public institution.)

Although our staff all pitched in to help clean up the water on the floor, they left the actual plumbing repair to the professionals. They were able to make good use of the protective masks and gloves we had stored in an unlocked supply closet for just such an emergency. One of our staff members has asthma, so I sent her home; she can make up the hours after all potential for mold or other airborne irritants has passed.

Once the mess was under control, our office assistant used the contact info written in our disaster plan to find the number for our insurance agent and reported the damage.