If your business didn't have access to electricity, telephones, water or gas for 72 hours or more, would you know what to do? Is your office building protected from flooding, forest fires or any other natural disasters?
Organizers of the 20th World Conference on Disaster Management (WCDM), taking place in Toronto from June 6-9, 2010, aim to make sure Canadian businesses answer yes to these and a host of other emergency preparedness questions in 2010.
"Every Canadian corporation - no matter how large or small - needs an emergency plan," says Chuck Wright, director of the 20th WCDM. "It's the first step to preparedness and to developing a mindset that keeps people safe, not only when disaster strikes but in their daily routines as well."
Companies are faced with an increasing potential for extreme natural disasters, a pandemic and a whole new variety of human-induced threats like cyber crime and terrorism that can cause costly business disruptions. Statistics show that without a tested emergency preparedness plan in place, up to 86 per cent of small- and medium-sized businesses will fail within three years of a major incident.
"It's time for businesses to ask themselves whether or not they want to be a part of that statistic," says Wright.
The four-day event will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. For more information, visit www.wcdm.org/Toronto/toronto.html