Catastrophe Plan

map image, Catastrophe Plan

Following is the J.W. Allen & Company policy in the event a national or local emergency, catastrophe, tropical depression, tropical storm, or hurricane threatens the state of our office operations, and details the steps to be taken should our office need to be secured and/or closed.

NOTE: As appropriate to the situation, only those applicable points in Phase IV and/or V will apply to a national or local emergency or catastrophe.

Our five-phase hurricane preparedness plan:

Action:
1. General staff notification acknowledging situation and that JWA is in hurricane Phase II.
2. Normal work status.
3. Periodic monitoring by management or designated staff of weather situation by radio, internet, television, etc.

Action:
1. General staff notification hurricane Phase III is in effect.
2. Normal work status.
3. Regular but periodic monitoring by management or designated staff of weather situation by radio, internet, television, etc.
4. Periodic staff updates on weather conditions.

NOTE: As appropriate to the situation, only those applicable points in Phase IV will apply in the event of a national or local emergency or catastrophe.

Action:
1. General staff notification hurricane Phase IV is in effect.
2. Regular but periodic monitoring by management or designated staff of weather situation by radio, internet, television, etc.
3. Regular staff updates on weather conditions.
4. Operators and management contact key vendors, the Port, etc. and inquire as to their anticipated hurricane plan, and what level of support we could expect should the city of New Orleans be inside or outside the cone of uncertainty.
5. Securement audit/walkthrough of our office proper is performed to ready ourselves in the event the evacuation of our office is required.
6. Assessment audit is performed for each JWA employee’s desk on per client and per file basis;
a) all working / upcoming shipment files are audited;
b) all upcoming shipments for which documents are on hand are entered and transmitted to CBP;
c) shipment documents are requested from each client for all upcoming shipments for which documents are required for entry processing;
d) all completed shipment files are scanned to ensure safekeeping.
7. Initial client/vendor communication is transmitted detailing our current state of preparedness assuring clients JWA has a tropical storm/hurricane plan in the event an evacuation becomes necessary. Plan will include;
a) a general overview to clients on how JWA will continue to support their business and process their shipments;
b) an overview of how it is anticipated JWA’s vendors will support us;
c) any change in our current state of preparedness will be communicated timely.

NOTE: As appropriate to the situation, only those applicable points in Phase V will apply in the event of a national or local emergency or catastrophe.


New Orleans not in the cone of uncertainty:
1. General staff notification hurricane Phase V is in effect.
2. Regular monitoring by management or designated staff of weather situation by radio, internet, television, etc.
3. Regular staff updates on weather conditions.
4. Decision on the release of second client/vendor communication, that an evacuation was not necessary, and/ or that:
a) JWA’s physical office is not yet open, but business is being handled off site, etc. or;
b) JWA’s office is open as normal.


New Orleans is in the cone of uncertainty:
1. General staff notification hurricane Phase V is in effect.
2. Regular monitoring by management or designated staff of weather situation by radio, internet, television, etc.
3. Regular staff updates on weather conditions.
4. Operators and management contact key vendors, the Port, etc. to get an update on their current hurricane plan status, and what level of support J.W. Allen can expect given the current situation.
5. Make a ‘state of the moment’ evaluation on what can be secured/protected early while still maintaining an ‘open for business’ status.
6. Make a determination of emergency preparedness measures required for the impending weather and initiate proportionate measures as necessary.
7. Follow up client/vendor communication is transmitted detailing our current state of preparedness assuring clients JWA has a tropical storm/hurricane plan in place in the event an evacuation of our office becomes necessary. Plan will include;
a) a general overview to clients on how JWA will continue to support their business and process their shipments;
b) an overview of how it is anticipated JWA’s vendors will support us;
c) any change in our current state of preparedness will be communicated timely.


General Preparedness Guidelines:

1. J.W. Allen will work to keep our office open as long as possible while maintaining normal business operations.
2. Weather conditions may force us to close our office early to ensure employee safety in the case of a rain/ storm event.
3. To ensure employee safety, weather conditions or governmental orders may force/ require us to close our office early in the event an evacuation of the Greater New Orleans area is ordered.
4. J.W. Allen will strictly comply with all state and local government evacuation requirements, directives and orders.
5. In the event an evacuation of the city was required, management and employee re-entry into the city will be in accordance with state and local government re-entry guidelines.
a. Availability of basic utilities and services such as electricity, phone, internet connectivity, etc. will be among the deciding factors in efforts to re-open our office building and the resumption of normal business operations.
b. In the absence of basic utilities and services at our office site remote operations will continue to be maintained until such time as in-office operations can be reestablished.