by: Fred Luevano

Is your community prepared for a regional disaster? This is the issue that many Crisis Managers and Disaster Recovery Planners have been trying to address during the past few years, in the course of their risk mitigation efforts. A regional disaster can create a myriad of problems. Not only may you find yourself facing health and safety issues, but you also may have to deal with financial impact to businesses that support local economies. The livelihood of most people is dependent on the availability of jobs. The viability of the companies that provide these jobs is contingent upon their ability to continue doing business, even if they have been impacted by a disaster.

The most common safeguard against these potential problems is a proactive one: the development by individual government agencies and by individual companies of business continuity plans. A more effective and a more comprehensive approach is to coordinate and leverage the capabilities of both private and public sectors. This is the goal of Project Impact, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-sponsored initiative to establish partnerships between key elements in the private and public sectors and build Disaster Resistant Communities.

Private and public sectors need to work together to mitigate the impact of potential disasters and to minimize the impact of an inevitable one. There can be a symbiotic relationship between these two sectors, each supporting the other for the benefit of both. For example, the public sector can help the private sector restore its operations quickly. In return, the private sector can put people back on their jobs and off public support. Similarly, the private sector can provide transportation and communication resources to the public sector for the good of the population at large.

It is encouraging that there have been, in recent years, instances of cooperation and collaboration between the two sectors. Some of this has been planned, and much has been spontaneous.

The city of Darlington, WI had been hit hard by flooding about every ten years, and significant economic damage was inflicted. The city partnered with FEMA, the Economic Development Agency, and the state in the implementation of a program of mitigation actions: floodproofing and relocating buildings, preventing development in flood-prone areas, and establishing an alternate site to which businesses can relocate when the inevitable flood recurs.

Des Moines, IA suffered a severe economic impact resulting from the 1993 Midwest Floods. The loss of water service for 11 days resulted in business losses of $300-400 million. Since that time the Des Moines Water Works initiated a project to build a second treatment facility and use aquifer storage. When the next flood occurs, impact to the community should be substantially mitigated.

Los Angeles, California was rocked by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The structural mitigation program for California schools, begun in 1933, was obviously successful in preventing injury. However, one of the lessons learned was that if school had been in session when the earthquake occurred, non-structural elements, such as ceiling lights, would certainly have inflicted significant injuries to students. Consequently a seismic retrofitting project was begun to remove ceiling lights that might be shaken loose during an earthquake.

Unfortunately, such reciprocal relationships between public and private sectors have been the exception rather than the rule. It would be advantageous for all to make the partnership between the two sectors the rule rather than the exception.

There are many justifications for such a change. First, the scale and scope of disasters is increasing. Every new hurricane and every new power failure seems to set a new record in terms of cost, the number of people impacted, and the number of businesses affected. Second, the interdependencies within each sector and between the two sectors is increasing. Neither may be able to afford a contingency plan for every conceivable disaster, but they can be more efficient and effective by joining forces. It is in this context that Private and Public Business Incorporated (PPBI) has been formed.

During the past year PPBI elected a Board of Directors consisting of key individuals from the private and public sectors. The Board has established working committees that have been chartered to meet numerous disaster-related challenges that confront government agencies and corporations throughout the nation. The ultimate challenge is to develop disaster resistant communities.

PPBI Mission Statement

The mission of the PPBI is to foster a symbiotic relationship between the Private and Public sectors to mitigate the impact of potential disasters and to minimize the impact of inevitable ones. This relationship should be both local and global. It should be ongoing and available on demand from either sector.

PPBI Objectives

There are many barriers to the development of a symbiotic relationship between the public and private sectors. They are historical, structural, procedural, cultural, and technical. At the same time, there are many facilitators. To help the two sectors overcome their respective barriers and, at the same time, utilize the facilitators, the PPBI will seek to achieve the following objectives:

Offer courses, training programs, educational modules, workshops, seminars, and consultation on the techniques for developing effective relationships between the private and public sectors.

Advocate and promote the importance of an effective relationship between the two sectors at local, state, national, and international levels.

Develop a repository of cases, data, and research on the need for and the benefits derived from an effective relationship between the two sectors.

Foster academic programs and research on cooperation and collaboration between private and public sectors, in the event of disasters.

We will continue to keep PPBI members and the community informed regarding our progress toward achieving our goals and objectives. If any of our members are interested in helping us meet some of these challenges, please let us know. There is a lot of expertise among our members, and we could use their support in a variety of ways. During 1998 we have been very fortunate to have had key companies and public sector agencies, such as SunGard, Comdisco, IBM, Ernst & Young, FCNBD, Schwab Corp., Niagara Mohawk Power, DOW Chemical, Ford Motor Credit, Harris Group, FEMA, CCEP, NEMA, SIU, Disaster Recovery Journal, Northrop Grumman and several others contribute either financially or with their expertise. Some of these organizations have provided their support during the past few years, during the formation of PPBI. We look forward to having other public and private organizations join us during 1999 to help us step up to the challenge of mitigating risks and exposures to our communities by establishing disaster resistant communities throughout the nation.

Fred Luevano Chairman of the Board, Private and Public Business Inc. (PPBI)