Before September 11th disaster recovery seemed to be something that was never strongly thought about. On that day the World Trade Center's recovery plan was put to the test. The damage done to the towers was tremendous, and the people involved risked their own lives trying to save others. The city was put to the test on February 26 1993 when the towers were bombed the first time. The number of missing people could have been larger but there was a plan to follow, which sped things up in escaping the building. A disaster recovery plan for any building can save lives, as well as save the business. .
The definition of a disaster is any accidental or intentional event that causes significant disruption to a company's operation. Each company will be faced with its unique set of threats and corresponding vulnerabilities. These threats and vulnerabilities will depend on the nature of the company's products or services and its geographic location. In the initial risk analysis all possible disasters should be reviewed to determine their probability of their potential for inflicting loss. (Chantico1).
The purpose of having a plan in place is to ensure the safety of occupants.Resume vital operations within a specified time after the incident occurs. Returning to normal operations as soon as practical and possible is key to keep a company going. Training personnel and familiarizing them with emergency operations will ensure a quick recovery. The plan should consider various types of disasters and varied durations of service interruption. It should detail the actions to be taken based on the level of damage, rather than an individual type of loss. Exceptions to this rule will be regional disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, blizzards in which case the plan should detail specific actions. (Chantico1).
The detailed information needed to develop a recovery plan will vary by company. But there are four features that should be included in all recovery plans: .