On the evening of Tuesday, October 10th, Hurricane Michael entered the state of Georgia as a Category 3 hurricane. According to the National Weather Service, “Hurricane Michael was the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall along the Florida panhandle as well as the first major hurricane (Category 3+) to directly impact Georgia since the 1890s.” The system retained wind gusts of 70 mph in central Georgia through the evening and exited the state on the morning of October 11th as a tropical storm, leaving in its wake a wide path of devastation across most of southwest Georgia and parts of central Georgia. Due to the severity of the damage, following on the heels of Hurricane Florence a month earlier, which left the North and South Carolina coastal regions devastated by flooding, the SBA Disaster Assistance resources were taxed.
Even with the myriad of demands emerging from these two storm systems, the SBA responded to southwest Georgia counties within a few days. As a small business owner, consider the three lessons learned below to better prepare, both mentally and financially, for the next disaster. We know that it is not a question as to whether it will happen again or not, but one of when.
