Document Management in Hurricane Season

Document management can take on a whole different meaning when you are preparing for hurricane season and your office is stuffed with paper or film.

While the 2019 hurricane season that begins June 1 is predicted to produce slightly below average hurricane activity – with 13 named storms and two likely to reach a strength of Category 3 or higher – it only takes one to leave you with a big problem if your documents are unprotected.

The University of Colorado has put the probability of a major storm making landfall on Florida’s East Coast, including the Florida peninsula, at 28%. That’s a small bit of good news: 31% is the average for the last century. But even a minor bit of flooding can be a disaster to paper records or microfiche, let alone the damage that hurricane-strength winds can do to your inboxes and filing cabinets if a window, a door or a roof is breached.

Even the Mildest Hurricane Season Puts Paper Documents At Risk

It’s the kind of threat that has inspired some records managers to deploy a document evacuation plan, loading semi-trucks with stacks of paper for transportation out of the danger zone.

But if moving your records is not an option, you might want to consider taking other steps to protect your documents, especially from the effects of moisture. Storing important records in typical cardboard bankers’ boxes is not a great option in areas at risk of hurricane and flooding. Heavy, moisture-proof plastic bins, while not hurricane-proof, can at least provide a degree of protection against water damage.

If you do experience water damage to critical documents, it’s important to act fast. Preventing the growth of mold and mildew requires taking steps within the first 24-48 hours. This may include enlisting the help of experts, who have a variety of techniques for the restoration of important paper and film documents. These can include:

• Vacuum freeze drying
• Desiccant drying
• Sterilization with gamma or electron beam radiation

Can We Make a Suggestion?

State-of-the-art scanning options can create an easily searchable, instantly accessible and hurricane-proof archive of your records in a far more cost-effective way than trying to relocate, re-package or restore your paper documents. Digital archives also add efficiency, eliminating time wasted on searching for missing files.  They take up a lot less space than filing cabinets and they’re accessible from wherever you are, no matter what the forecast. To learn more about your options for saving time, money and space with scanning and digital archives, call us or click on the link below. We have helped cities, counties, law enforcement agencies and schools across the state protect their most important documents with digital archives that they don’t have to think about in hurricane season.

Contact us to learn more about scanning and software solutions for document management