Hurricane Ike is in full swing. Galveston has likely been devasted. Houston faces the worst hurricane in a generation. Millions of Texans are already without power as Ike heads north. The only reason Ike won’t compare to Katrina is the lack of poorly planned levies.

Along with tropical storms, power outages, flooding, and damaged property comes the inevitable post-storm consumer backlash. City governments, FEMA, eletric delivery companies, insurance companies, police departments, emergency rescue organizations, aid/relief organizations, construction companies, grocers, and local businesses all face dozens of choices before, during, and after a storm whose outcomes have the potential to cause a spreading reputation crisis.

For the reputation manager, a tropical storm offers many opportunities. Everyone needs to save face in the aftermath of a disaster. What precautions SHOULD have been made? What policies should have been changed prior to a natural disaster? How quickly should a company respond after a crisis? Who is to blame when homeowners don’t receive help fast enough?

Each natural disaster is unique. You can’t predict exactly what damage will happen where. You don’t know in advance what conditions you will conduct your repairs in. And all this means that someone somewhere doesn’t get the attention they need fast enough. People suffer. Homes are destroyed. Lives need to be rebuilt. Electricity has to be restored. Water has to be filtered and pumped. Sewage has to be handled properly. That doesn’t even cover mold, mildew, lost and damaged property, or missing property.

Yes, it’s a tragedy when a hurricane hits a community and turns people’s lives upside down. Yes, we need to be sensitive to their loss. Let’s not forget, however, that companys must turn a profit to continue, so that employees can be paid and mouths can be fed. And it’s a service to the community to assist with the efforts to monitor and respond to customer needs.

Our agency has already offered to assist our client who happens to be one of the largest players in the post-hurricane cleanup process. I’ll keep you updated if anything blog worthy comes of it.

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