Is Your Business Ready for El Niño?

El Niño can bring heavy rain, flooding, and other weather-related disruptions to California. Even if your business avoids direct damage, power outages, road closures, and supply delays can affect your ability to serve customers and keep operations running.

What would happen if you had to close your business tomorrow? Would you know what your insurance covers, how to contact employees, or how to protect essential equipment and inventory?

Outsmart Disaster’s latest Tips & Tools article offers practical steps to help small businesses and nonprofits prepare for potential disruptions. You’ll find recommendations for protecting employees, reviewing insurance coverage, planning for power outages, and preparing for temporary closures.

Download the preparedness checklist to identify gaps and prioritize your next steps. Every business is different, so tailor your preparations to your specific needs.

Need help getting started? Visit our Certified Trainers webpage to find a trainer near you and strengthen your business’s resiliency.

El Niño can bring wetter-than-normal conditions to California, increasing the potential for heavy rain, flooding, and other weather-related disruptions. Even if your business isn’t directly affected by flooding, power outages, road closures, and supply delays can interrupt your operations.

The best time to prepare is before a storm is on the horizon. Here are some practical steps you can take now to help protect your employees, property, and business.

Sign Up for Emergency Alerts

Knowing what’s coming can help you make informed decisions and act early. Sign up for local emergency alerts, monitor weather forecasts from trusted sources, and familiarize yourself with evacuation routes and official emergency information. Find out whether your business is in or near a flood-prone area, and keep an eye on road closures that could affect employees, customers, and deliveries. Check your city and county emergency management websites for local alerts and preparedness resources.

Protect Your Business Location and Assets

Heavy rain and flooding can damage buildings, equipment, inventory, and supplies. Check gutters and drainage around your business, and address maintenance issues where you are responsible. Identify equipment, inventory, and important supplies that could be damaged by water. Where appropriate, elevate or relocate vulnerable items away from areas prone to flooding, and secure outdoor equipment and loose materials before severe weather arrives. A walk-through of your workplace can help you identify potential problems before they become costly losses.

Keep Employees Safe and Connected

Your employees need to know what to do when severe weather threatens your business. Keep contact information up to date and establish a backup way to communicate if your usual systems are unavailable. Decide how you will notify employees about closures, schedule changes, or remote work arrangements, and make sure everyone understands when to stay away from the workplace. Identify who will make decisions if you cannot reach your business location. Employee safety always comes first. Never ask anyone to drive through flooded roads or enter unsafe areas.

Review Your Insurance and Financial Readiness

Recovering from a disaster can be expensive, and not every type of damage or interruption is covered by insurance. Review your commercial property and business interruption policies with your insurance agent or broker. Ask specifically about flood damage, exclusions, deductibles, and any waiting periods or other requirements. Keep digital copies of pictures, videos, insurance policies, financial records, receipts, and inventory lists in a secure location. Consider how you would cover essential expenses, such as rent, payroll, and utilities, if your business had to close temporarily.

Prepare for Power Outages and Supply Disruptions

Your business doesn’t have to flood to experience a disruption. Severe weather can affect electricity, internet access, payment systems, transportation, and deliveries. Identify the equipment, systems, and services your business depends on most. Think about how you would process payments if your internet or point-of-sale system went down, and make sure important business data is backed up and accessible when needed. If your business relies on refrigeration, temperature-sensitive equipment, or time-sensitive deliveries, plan how you would protect those assets. Identifying alternative suppliers for essential products and materials can also help you maintain operations when normal supply chains are interrupted.

Plan for Temporary Closure and Recovery

Sometimes, closing temporarily is the safest decision. Thinking through a closure before it happens can help you respond with less confusion and reopen when it is safe to do so. Consider how you would notify customers about closures or delays, manage ongoing expenses, and determine what you would need to resume operations. Keep a list of essential contacts, including employees, suppliers, service providers, and property management. Identify the equipment, supplies, repairs, and resources you would need to reopen, and make sure your business continuity plan is accessible to someone you trust.

Know Where to Find Help

You don’t have to prepare alone. Local chambers of commerce, Small Business Development Centers, economic development organizations, and other community partners can help you identify resources and strengthen your preparedness. Building these connections before a disruption occurs can also help you find reliable information and potential recovery assistance when you need it.

Take the Next Step

Download the preparedness checklist (English , Spanish) and explore the Business Resiliency Roadmap to help prepare your business for disruptions. Need help getting started? Find a Certified Trainer near you for guidance and resources.

Every business is different. Use these recommendations as a starting point and tailor your preparations to your business’s unique needs.

Start with one question: If your business had to close tomorrow, what would you wish you had done today?

November 2026