Case Study:
In November 2018, strong winds aggravated conditions in another round of large, destructive fires that occurred across Northern California. This new batch of wildfires included the Woolsey Fire and the Camp Fire. The Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise and killed at least 85 people, with 1 still unaccounted for as of August 2, 2019. The Camp Fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures, becoming both California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record. AccuWeather estimated the total economic cost of the 2018 wildfires at $400 billion (2018 USD), which includes property damage, firefighting costs, direct and indirect economic losses, as well as recovery expenditures. Another study, published two years after the fires, estimated the total damages at $148.5 billion, including capital losses, health costs and indirect losses.
Question 1: How could organizations evaluate potential risks in advance?
Question 2: How should emergency plans reflect these types of situations and risks to ensure that businesses can recover?