Three Steps to Prepare for Hurricane Season
Hurricane Season begins on June 1 and ends on November 30.
With the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season less than a month away, now is the time for municipalities and organizations to prepare for potential closures and damages that can be caused by heavy wind and flooding.
Below are three steps organizations should take to ensure that:
Employees know what to do before, during, and after a hurricane.
They are able to communicate effectively in any severe weather event.
Before hurricane season: Develop an Emergency Action Plan
An EAP provides actionable guidelines for workplace emergencies.
Creating an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) – as recommended by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – provides actionable guidelines for workplace emergencies. The scope of the plan is dependent on the size and type of workplace. While creating your plan, consider the following:
Develop a plan that is site-specific regarding evacuation policies and operations, emergency reporting mechanisms, and alarm systems.
Utilize OSHA’s EAP Checklist to guide your planning, identify potential issues, and how to address them.
Involve your employees in the planning process and encourage them to provide input on appropriate emergency responses.
Include a diagram of the facility with exit routes.
Plan an organization-wide meeting to review it.
Provide a copy of the plan to all employees.
Select an Emergency Coordinator to Guide Emergency Planning and Training
In an emergency, selecting an assertive leader as an emergency coordinator will keep everyone calm, organized, and informed. This individual must create the EAP, share it with all employees, and be prepared to facilitate evacuation before a hurricane approaches. The coordinator will oversee emergency procedures, notify outside assistance, and shutter operations if needed.
A basic supply kit with hurricane essentials.
The coordinator should be aware of local and national news reporting and follow community guidance from emergency officials if evacuation is required. Weather monitoring systems such as Alertus’ Threatwatcher™ are valuable tools for offices and facilities that broadcast real-time weather updates from the National Weather Service (NWS). OSHA also has a Hurricane Preparedness and Response page with helpful information on hurricane watches/warnings.
The emergency coordinator should annually review the EAP with all employees and conduct drills so everyone can practice organized evacuations. Advise staff to assemble a basic emergency supply kit containing several days of food and water, plus flashlights and batteries, customized for their specific needs.
During and After A Hurricane
With the AlertAware ThreatWatcher Integration, personnel can view NWS weather alerts and monitor critical weather events to protect their employees, regardless of location.
When a hurricane watch is issued, organizations must act quickly to communicate with employees and implement their plans before the storm intensifies. Secure your facility for the hurricane, and provide essential business continuity information after the storm, by utilizing mass notification systems to contact all staff members, no matter where they are. Personal alerting methods include push notifications through mobile apps or cell broadcasting, allowing geo-targeting of any mobile device connected to a designated network. Within a facility, desktop notification, digital signage, IP speakers, and audio devices provide broad reach across high-occupancy areas to quickly inform occupants of a hurricane and how to respond.
Alertus provides a comprehensive platform that unifies existing notification systems and offers a suite of tools for real-time weather monitoring. This allows organizations to effectively disseminate emergency alerts across their entire workforce during hurricanes and severe weather events.
Check out our leading mass notification solutions for severe weather and prepare for hurricane season today.
Originally posted July 1, 2022, updated May 8, 2026.