TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced the launch of a new website, FloridaDisaster.biz, to help Florida businesses prepare for and recover from hurricanes and other disasters. By providing critical information before, during and after a disaster, the website will help businesses recover and get Floridians back to work following emergencies.

Features of the new website include:

• A disaster planning toolkit to help businesses prepare for hurricanes and other disasters;
• Critical disaster updates from the State Emergency Operations Center to keep businesses informed during emergencies; and
• A Business Damage Assessment Survey to help businesses get back up and running after an emergency.
  

Governor Scott said, “Floridians understand the importance of being prepared for disasters, especially during hurricane season. This new website will help businesses make safe and informed decisions for themselves, their employees and their customers. Every Florida business can visit FloridaDisaster.biz, make a disaster plan and stay updated as we move further into hurricane season.”

Cissy Proctor, DEO Executive Director, said, “The new FloridaDisaster.biz provides key resources and information to help Florida’s job creators in the face of a disaster. We know that businesses, like individuals and families, must be prepared with a plan, and FloridaDisaster.biz will guide businesses step-by-step to help them prepare and recover quickly from an emergency."

Wes Maul, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said, “Effectively preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters takes input from the whole community. This valuable tool will boost Florida’s private sector engagement during emergencies and help raise awareness of available resources. Ensuring our businesses can reopen quickly is critical to the speedy recovery of our impacted communities.”

FloridaDisaster.biz is a partnership between DEO and the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Other partners include the U.S. Department of Commerce, Florida State University’s Center for Disaster Risk Policy, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, the Florida Retail Federation, VISIT FLORIDA, the Florida Small Business Development Center Network and others. DEO is the lead agency for the support of business, industry and economic stabilization during a statewide disaster.

###