Independent Banker - September 2018 - 33

Next: Why Australians love their contactless cards
As a result, when the bank reopened its
branches, it had to do so with skeleton crews.
Even after that, some employees were displaced
for several weeks and weren't able to return to
work, because they had no place to live. " We tried
to rent some mobile homes for them to stay in,
but that wasn't even possible, because demand
was so high, " says Stockton. " There was nothing
to rent or lease. In the end, they helped each
other through it. A lot of employees stayed with
each other or with other friends or relatives. "
routes, and being able to get to the things they
need: water, food and generators. " Axiom Bank
also has employees with trucks who have volunteered
to be part of the disaster relief committee
to deliver essential items to people in need.
Preparation is everything
Florida feels the heat
Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida on Sept.
10, 2017. Power outage estimates ranged from
up to 6.2 million in Florida, 560,000 in Georgia,
68,000 in South Carolina, 31,000 in North Carolina
and 1,400 in Alabama. While power was
restored to most people in these states within
a week, some utilities remained engaged in
rebuilds for much longer.
Like The First State Bank, $560 million-asset
Axiom Bank, N.A. in Maitland, Fla., wrestled with
employee issues more than structural ones. " Our
branches received minimal damage from the hurricane,
because most of them are located inside
Walmarts, " says Ron Strand-Sorrell, chief operating
officer. " We did have some minor flooding
at a couple of the branches. " Getting to and from
the bank's corporate offices in Orange County
was also difficult due to flooding.
" The one thing that hit us the most, and the one
thing we hadn't really anticipated ahead of time,
was the fact that many of our employees had to be
evacuated from their homes, some of them completely
out of the state, " says Strand-Sorrell. Even
those who were able to stay had no utilities, so
they lost all of their food and water. Some employees
were without electricity for nearly three weeks,
and many employees with children had to make
other childcare arrangements after many daycare
centers closed due to power outages.
" After the hurricane, we set up a disaster relief
committee, which is still in place, " Strand-Sorrell
says. " If this were to happen again, we would work
to have a better delivery channel. Our process
would involve communicating with our employees
continuously throughout the process. Ahead
of time, we would remind them of the importance
of having their own emergency kits and escape
Hurricanes and tropical storms are problems
that aren't going away. The best thing community
banks can do is envision the worst-case scenario
and prepare for it. According to Denver-based
Agility Recovery, which provides business continuity
and disaster recovery services, we can learn
three lessons from hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
1. Know your power requirements. " Regardless
of the nature of a natural disaster, power
seems to be the number-one asset that everyone
either seems to struggle to maintain or
recover, " says Scott Teel, senior director of corporate
communications for Agility Recovery.
" Have an electrician come out and determine
your power requirements. "
2. Have access to multiple vendors. " After
disasters, generators and fuel are in very high
demand, " Teel says. " You can't just call the
local equipment rental yard and get what you
need. They may be impacted by the disaster,
too. Even if they aren't, their equipment is
going to be in very high demand, so you need
to build relationships with multiple vendors in
multiple geographical areas. "
Quick stat
6.2
million
Estimated power
outages in
Florida following
Hurricane Irma
3. Prepare your employees. " As a bank executive,
you can't help your bank recover on
your own, " says Teel. " You need your employees. "
The first step, he says, is to help your
employees be ready. " If your employees aren't
prepared at home to have the ability to take
care of their families, chances are they are not
going to come to work, " he says. It doesn't take
a lot of time or money to help them prepare
for a natural disaster. " It is easy to download
resources for them in advance from sources
such as FEMA and the [American] Red Cross, "
he says. " Then, you can hold workshops to discuss
these steps in advance. "
William Atkinson is a writer in Illinois.
independentbanker.org Q 33
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - September 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - September 2018
