How Hurricanes Affect Businesses, and How Meteum Can Help

Hurricanes are growing in vigor and intensity as the climate warms. Recent projections indicate that tropical cyclone intensity could increase by 2–11% over each degree of warming. The average number of tropical cyclones per year has increased since the 1970s, and this trend is expected to continue into the future.

A violent flurry of gusts isn’t the only thing to fear when a hurricane is bearing down: inland flooding from the heavy rain is always a risk. That’s because small businesses don’t have the financial resources to withstand a natural disaster. The best way for companies to protect themselves from hurricane damage is by planning ahead and taking steps to keep risks to a minimum.

Let’s look at how hurricanes may harm your business and how your can partially mitigate the adverse effects with the help of weather forecasting technology.

The Impact of Hurricanes on Businesses

• Property damage. Any facilities in the storm’s path will likely suffer severe damage that can be particularly devastating for small businesses.
• Cleanup costs after hurricanes are debilitating for any enterprise, requiring a temporary ceasing of operations.
• Loss of clientele can lead to a drop in revenue and an overall loss of confidence in the business. Businesses that rely on residents for income are likely to see a decline in sales or business activity.
• Reputation losses can be even more severe than the financial hit, as it often takes years to recover from a disaster. In addition, customers will likely be hesitant to do business with a company that has suffered such a loss.
• Supply chains will be disrupted, which could lead to a lack of supplies and labor. Just one damaged factory can be enough to paralyze dozens of others.
• Power outages in the aftermath of a storm can last for days and make it difficult for employees to get to work or maintain productivity during recovery efforts. Loss of business records is also a possible outcome.

Case Overview: Hurricane Ian

In September, hurricane Ian plowed into the Caribbean islands, swishing over Cuba and crashing into Florida. The winds approached 250 km/h (150 mph), bringing utter destruction to anything in their way.

Hurricane Ian ravaged the Sunshine State of Florida with a flurry of storms, causing widespread damage. The state is well-known for its tourist industry and agriculture, but it also has a significant manufacturing sector. The total damages of hurricane Ian in Florida approach $2 billion.

• Tropical storm Ian devastated the agriculture industry. The storm destroyed crops, leading to higher food prices due to supply shortages, kickstarting a domino effect. For instance, next year’s citrus yields are projected to be the lowest since the Great Depression.
• Tourism is another important industry in Florida, and Hurricane Ian caused significant damage to hotels and other facilities used by tourists during their stays. As a result, tourism revenues fell by as much as 30% and are still recovering to this day due to reduced demand for travel services related to hurricane Ian’s aftermath.
• Finally, hurricane Ian damaged many factories across the state of Florida as well as manufacturing equipment, such as tools and machinery used to build products destined for sale at local stores or international markets overseas.

Yet, in spite of the damage Ian brought to Florida, its economy, and local businesses, major supply chains appear to have emerged relatively unscathed, particularly when compared to other recent natural disasters and weather anomalies, such as the freak ice storm that rampaged over Texas in 2021.

Business conditions have seen an improvement rather quickly in Florida. The state government has likely played a role by being intimately involved with recovery efforts, providing businesses with zero-interest recovery loans and organizing recovery centers.

As terrifying as it was, Ian was just one of the many hurricanes we can expect in the future. The good news is that steps can be taken to minimize risks and reduce losses. The bad news is that implementing them can take a lot of investment and collaboration.

One of the best and easiest ways to foresee incoming storms is weather forecasting. Protect your business with Meteum, an ahead-of-the-curve weather intelligence platform. Use rich historical weather data, an easy-to-integrate API, and highly accurate hyperlocal forecasts to drive your decisions and ensure that your company is always prepared for the worst.

Meteum uses weather models, data sources, artificial intelligence, and user reports to track weather trends and help businesses make better operational decisions. Explore Meteum and claim your trial API key for free at meteum.io.