‘Major disaster may cause economy to fall apart’

Any major disaster to hit a small island like Saipan may cause the economy to fall apart if businesses are not well prepared for it, according to officials of the Emergency Management Office.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune, EMO chief planner Theodore Untalan and EMO adviser Dr. Ken Shankweiler underscored the importance of businesses, particularly small ones, to prepare for any disaster to minimize losses.

Untalan said the national theme is to link up the private sector with the public sector in terms of disaster preparedness.

“In the past, the government had to look for business input or business resources after a disaster,” Untalan said.

With the experience from Hurricane Katrina, he said, the national Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security are now placing a lot of emphasis on setting up a private-public partnership and getting and knowing their resources.

“Business is a integral part of our economy. In any disaster, our economy could fall apart. Part of our education is to get the businesses prepared for a disaster so any loss will be minimized,” Untalan said. “Minimizing their loss, getting the economy back on its feet and their help is part of our agenda,” he added.

EMO conducted a business preparedness workshop at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe last Friday in line with this September’s celebration of CNMI Disaster Preparedness Month.

Dr. Shankweiler said that looking at past experiences, EMO has determined that it could have done a much better job of involving the business community because businesses are an integral part if an emergency occurs in the CNMI.

“Protecting our businesses and having our businesses be part of what we do during and after the disaster is so important that we put a lot of significance on this particular activity this year,” he said.

Shankweiler said EMO will continue throughout the year to involve businesses in everything it does.

“We would like to see businesses involved, with a wider understanding all of these things and how we work together to make them a very integral part. This is not just the government but business and the private sector,” he said.

Shankweiler, chairman of 2008 Disaster Preparedness Month, said EMO sponsored the workshop, in coordination with Saipan Chamber of Commerce executive director Kyle Calabrese.

He said the workshop’s participants were primarily small business owners who came to learn how to prepare their businesses in the event of an emergency.

At the seminar, Megabyte general manager Brad Brian spoke about computers, telling business owners, among other things, about the importance of backing up their computers and doing things to protect their computers in the event of emergencies.

Frank L. Gibson, a consultant, discussed Human Resource’s role in disaster management.

Gibson, who used to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission expert, spoke on matters that human resources personnel should do to be prepared, such as how to pay the employees if there is an emergency.

Among the things Gibson discussed was how to protect employees if something happens during the course of work in a time of emergency.

Shankweiler said they also had Pete Schilling speak about disaster preparedness from an insurance point of view.

“He’s talked [about] what you should be doing, what will insurance cover, what doesn’t insurance cover. What are some other options that you have in the event of having an emergency,” he said.