September is National Preparedness Month, which serves as the perfect reminder to revisit your organization's preparedness program. The campaign encourages us to prepare for disasters in our families, our communities and our businesses. At Atlas Oil, we understand the importance of having plans in place when disaster strikes and want to make sure you do too. This month is especially important to us as we pride ourselves on being experts in emergency fueling for disaster preparedness.

Hazards businesses may face can range from natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes to human-caused hazards such as accidents, acts of violence by people and acts of terrorism. It’s also important to note that disasters don’t have to be something that is widespread, impacting your community or your region. It can be something as simple as a water main break on the street in front of your business.

Here at Atlas Oil, we work in preparedness 24/7/365 and recognize that having to close your doors, or go without power for even a few minutes, can cause your company to lose tremendous amounts of money. As noted on Ready.gov, up to 40% of businesses affected by a natural or human-caused disaster never reopen. Fortunately, businesses can do a lot when it comes to disaster preparedness.

Ready.gov offers a useful list of proactive steps businesses can take to prevent major disruptions to their organization in case of a disaster:

Program Management - Organize, develop and administer your preparedness program.

Planning - Gather information, conduct an analysis and examine ways to prevent hazards and reduce risks.

Implementation - Write your preparedness plan.

Testing and Exercises - Test and evaluate your plan to review its effectiveness.

Program Improvement - Identify how often your plan should be reviewed and utilize the review to make necessary changes.

Fuel is also an important component of any emergency preparedness plan. Without a steady supply of fuel, the generators keeping your business or home online will fail. To ensure your company has the emergency fuel you need, Atlas Oil’s Emergency ReFuel plans have you covered so that you will never experience downtime regardless of what causes the interruption. Plans such as our Generator Assurance Plan and Fleet Assurance Plan guarantee our customers emergency fuel services when they need it most.

Regardless of where you live, whether Oklahoma, the heart of Tornado Alley, or on the West Coast where earthquakes are frequent and costly, you can count on Atlas Oil for your fueling needs.

For more information on how Atlas Oil's Emergency Fuel Solutions can help your business minimize operational downtime and maximize efficiency, visit our Emergency ReFuel website or contact us at 800.878.2000.