County Launches New Business Recovery Directory

MANATEE COUNTY – Manatee County Government this week launched a new online tool that could help local businesses leverage resources and pull through a catastrophe.

Manatee County business owners may now sign up for the Business Recovery Directory, a free emergency information exchange network. Manatee County Economic Development Program Manager Karen Stewart said the information businesses provide will help emergency managers in the event of an emergency.

“We encourage all businesses large and small to log in and list information in the Business Recovery Directory,” Stewart says. “If there’s ever a natural disaster, this information will be vital to emergency managers to quickly prop up the business community and keep our workforce employed.”
 
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) more than 40 percent of businesses do not reopen following a disaster. With this is mind, Manatee’s Emergency Service Function (ESF) 18: Business Recovery was tasked with decreasing the odds. The Business Recovery Directory is one tool to do this.

By signing up for the Business Recovery Directory, businesses can have their products or services considered for purchase during recovery operations, thus keeping federal recovery dollars local.

“Disasters can hit an economy hard. The U.S. Small Business Administration statistics suggest that more than 90 percent of businesses fail within two years following the impact of a disaster,” said Don Hermey, Emergency Management Chief. “The Business Recovery Directory in Manatee County has been designed to partner Manatee County businesses with the recovery effort.”

The directory will be used for all local disasters – not just hurricanes. To sign up, go to the Business Recovery Directory page. For more information, contact Karen Stewart by e-mail karen.stewart@mymanatee.org or call (941) 749-3029. To learn more about business recovery efforts in Manatee County, go the ESF-18 website.