BankAtlantic’s Community Bulletin Board: Hurricane Preparedness Tips for Small Businesses

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. – September 29, 2009 – BankAtlantic, Florida’s Most Convenient Bank, announced its Community Bulletin Board: Hurricane Preparedness Tips for Small Businesses.

“Local merchants, small businesses, and home-based businesses are the backbone of our community. Their ability to withstand the physical and economic effects of a hurricane or other natural disaster and reopen quickly is essential and necessary for everyone,” commented Jarett Levan, CEO of BankAtlantic. “Almost 40% of small businesses that close due to a hurricane or natural disaster event never re-open. If you haven’t done so already, now is the time for all of the small businesses in our community to finalize their business disaster plans and be prepared for the 2009 hurricane season,” he added.
Here are some of the things you can do to be prepared:
Employee Preparation:
• ___ Identify operations critical to survival and recovery.
• ___ Determine which members of your staff you will need to carry out hurricane preparations and who you can reasonably expect to be available.
• ___ Develop a simple written plan which incorporates a set of Hurricane Task assignments for your staff.
• ___ Outline the specific tasks which must be performed to protect your facility during a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning, how they will be accomplished, and who will perform them.
• ___ Outline your hurricane response plan and task assignments at a training session.
Familiarization training should be conducted at the beginning of every hurricane season.
• ___ Plan for payroll continuity and include emergency payroll, expedited financial decision-making and accounting systems to track and document costs in the event of a disaster.

Facility Preparation:
If your facility is in an evacuation or storm surge inundation zone you may be required to completely evacuate it.
• ___Identify essential business records that should be removed from the facility and determine where you plan to take them.
• ___Back up computer records on disk or tape and move these with other essential records.
• ___Identify your suppliers, shippers, resources and other businesses you must interact with on a daily basis.
• ___Create a contact list for existing critical business contractors and others you plan to use in an emergency.
Keep these and other important documents on file, in your emergency supply kit and at an off-site location.
• ___ Review your list of major equipment and furnishings to determine which items need
to be protected or removed and record how you plan to do it.
• ___ Identify outside equipment and furnishings which could be blown loose and may become deadly missiles in hurricane winds. Determine where they will be stored or how they will be secured in-place. Among the items to be secured are any outside merchandise, trash cans, signs, awnings, antennas and tools.
• ___ Strongly anchor any portable storage buildings.
• ___ Ensure rooftop equipment such as exhaust fans, wind turbines, and air conditioning units are securely fastened or strapped down to the roof deck.
• ___ If the roof is a composition roof with a gravel covering, remove loose gravel to preclude damage to unprotected windows by stones being blown off of the roof.
• ___ Ensure that members of your staff know how to turn off the electrical power, water, gas, and other utility services within your building at main switches.

Equipment:
• ___ Obtain several battery-operated radios and spare batteries to ensure you can receive emergency information. Have at least one radio on site which can receive National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio frequencies, preferably a weather radio with a tone alert capable of receiving reports of significant changes in weather conditions.
• ___ Store sufficient flashlights and other battery powered lights to allow essential work to be conducted in the event of power outage. Store a good supply of fresh batteries throughout the hurricane season.
• ___ Organize and store the necessary tools and supplies to board up windows and brace doors. The first priority in protecting your facility will be to keep the wind out.
• ___ A back-up generator will be useful. Electric power may go out before a hurricane comes ashore and may be out for an extended period.
• ___ Subscribe to a resilient high-speed Internet service -- satellite broadband may be an option -- so your company e-mail, product orders, and other business critical information can be maintained should your terrestrial network fail.
• ___ Prepare and protect critical data. Evaluate which applications and data are essential, such as accounting documents and inventory logs, perform backups in a timely manner, and store the data in a safe, secure, and dependable facility. Since data may be lost due to flooding, consider storing data at an off-site location away from your local area.
• ___ Keep at least one corded phone connected to a wall jack to ensure that your business has telecommunications service in the event of an electrical-only outage.
Recommended Supplies:
• ___ Obtain plywood (preferably 5/8 inch thick exterior type) before hurricane season begins and precut it to size, mark each panel to identify where it goes, and store it until needed.
• ___ Sufficient lumber to brace inward-opening exterior doors and roll-up doors on the
inside. Boards should be 2 x 4’s or larger.
• ___ Waterproof tape (duct tape or filament tape) to help protect the smaller windows in your facility from powerful wind gusts and flying debris.
• ___ Tie-down material (rope or chain) for outside furnishings and equipment that can’t be moved.
• ___ Heavy duty plastic sheeting, furring strips, and a nail or staple gun to be used to make expedient roof, window or leak repairs.
• ___ Create a disaster supply kit and have this ready for emergencies with contents such as:
           o foods (canned goods, non-perishable, ready to eat)
           o water (one gallon per person per day)
           o manual can opener and other eating utensils, personal hygiene items such as soap deodorant, shampoo, toothbrush,toothpaste, toilet paper, first aid kit and manual, fire protection equipment or fire extinguisher, rainwear, gloves, and blankets
• ___ Have an ample supply of brooms, squeegees, mops, and absorbents to remove water.

“Being prepared for a hurricane or other natural disaster doesn’t cost—it pays. Being prepared to survive a hurricane and recover quickly not only benefits a business’s bottom line but it also enables them to provide products and services that can be vital and essential to a community in a time of crisis,” said Becky Cohen, CBCP and BankAtlantic’s Business Continuity Officer.

BankAtlantic’s Community Bulletin Board:
Hurricane Preparedness Tips for Small Businesses is a good start. However, to be fully prepared and for more detailed information, please visit:
• The Florida Division of Emergency Management at www.floridadisaster.org
• The American Red Cross at www.redcross.org
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.fema.gov

About BankAtlantic:
BankAtlantic, “Florida’s Most Convenient Bank”, is one of the largest financial institutions headquartered in Florida. Via its broad network of community branches, online banking division - BankAtlantic.com , and conveniently located ATMs, BankAtlantic provides a full line of personal, small business and commercial banking products and services. BankAtlantic is open 7 days a week with extended weekday hours, Free Online Banking & Bill Pay, a 7-Day Customer Service Center and Change Exchange coin counters.

BankAtlantic Bancorp (NYSE: BBX) is a bank holding company and the parent company of BankAtlantic.

BankAtlantic, Florida’s Most Convenient Bank, Contact Info:
Media Relations:
Sharon Lyn Telephone: 954-940-6383
Fax: 954-940-5320
Email: CorpComm@BankAtlanticBancorp.com

BankAtlantic Bancorp Contact Info:
Leo Hinkley, Media and Investor Relations Officer
Telephone: (954) 940-5300
Email: InvestorRelations@BankAtlanticBancorp.com

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The matters discussed herein are meant as a public service reminder and a general summary of hurricane preparedness suggestions, are not exclusive, and should not be considered an all inclusive or complete list of steps, procedures, items, suggestions or ideas related to or needed towards preparing for a hurricane or other natural disaster. Each individual business, company or merchant and each hurricane or other natural disasters is unique and you should seek the advice of a professional or research and utilize the recommendations of the authorities which includes but is not limited: to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as your local emergency management office. Actual hurricane preparedness results or professional recommendations could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed, or implied by the statements contained herein, and the Company cautions that the foregoing factors are not exclusive.

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