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TD Magazine Article

Weathering Potential Storms

Companies are underprepared to deal with emergencies.

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Sat Feb 01 2025

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Twenty-eight percent of US workers and 23 percent of international staff believe their companies are unprepared for emergencies. A 2024 Fusion Risk Management study surveyed 1,000 workers—500 US and 500 non-US full-time employees of large private and public companies—about organizational preparedness. While the top three priorities among non-US companies are cyberattacks, natural disasters, and technology failures, US businesses focus on natural disasters, cyberthreats, and active shooters.

Emergency preparedness is a pressing issue worldwide. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 2023 National Preparedness Report, 60 climate-related disasters caused 1,460 deaths and 2,939 injuries from January 2020 to December 2022. Those disasters each cost $1 billion, a significant increase compared to costs from the previous decade. FEMA reports that cyberattacks, pandemics, and floods are most likely to occur. Additionally, the inconsistent adoption of building codes is a significant factor compounding risks and increasing costs from natural disasters.

Given such statistics, companies must treat emergency preparedness as a critical aspect of business continuity and risk management. "By investing in training, communication, and proper risk strategies, organizations can better protect themselves, their operations, and their employees from the challenges and threats they'll face in the future," says the Fusion Risk Management study.

Further, the report notes that 25 percent of US respondents said their employer has no written emergency preparedness plan; 18 percent of global employees stated the same. Of both US and international organizations with plans, only half update them annually. Internationally, two out of 10 do so twice yearly whereas one of 10 US organizations do so. Nearly one-third of US companies don't regularly test or update their plans at all.

There's also a discrepancy in training: While 71 percent of international employees have participated in an emergency drill or simulation, only 59 percent of US respondents said they have done the same.

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