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strikes. The issue is no longer if, but when, a business will be affected by a catastrophicevent. Since most catastrophic events hit with little or no warning, businesses must beprepared.Unfortunately, the low probability of such occurrences often causesbusinesses to fail to prepare for the consequences of a catastrophic event.According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 40% of businessesdo not reopen after a disaster and another 25% fail within one year. 3According to theU.S. Bureau of Labor, most businesses that experience a major disaster are no longerin business within five years. 4If a disaster struck your business tomorrow, would yoube prepared? Would your business survive?To survive a catastrophic event, businesses must invest time developing proceduresthat prevent, prepare for, and minimize the effect of a catastrophe. Businesses must beproactive in planning and resilient in responding to catastrophic events. Although thereis no way to address every type of potential disaster and every topic within the myriad ofissues associated with them, this paper will attempt to address the threshold issues ofhow your business can prepare for and respond to such events, as well as some of thepractical issues that arise as a result of such events.3 Corina Mullen, Business Planning for Disaster Survival, CHAMBER 101,http://www.chamber101.com/2programs_committee/natural_disasters/disasterpreparedness/Forty.htm(last visited on Dec. 9, 2014).4 Laura DiBiase, When Disaster Strikes – Strike Back!, 22 Feb Am. Bankr. Inst. J. 14 (2003).March 5, 2015 3 @ 3-5-2015 ALFA International6427256.3/SP/00009/0099/011215