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Preparing For Natural Disasters

Tornadoes, floods and earthquakes, oh my! Prepare for natural disasters before they strike.

By Lisa Kanarek

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Natural disasters--whether tornado, flood, earthquake orfire--can be devastating both personally and professionally.Although you can't control disasters, you can take steps toprepare for the unexpected.

  • Make a video record of your belongings. Buy, rent or borrow avideo camera, and videotape everything in your home office. (Whileyou're at it, film the rest of your home as well.) Whiletaping, describe in detail everything you see. As they say, "Apicture is worth a thousand words." In this case, your videorecord could mean several thousand dollars extra in insuranceclaims. Store the video in a safe place where it will be accessibleif you need it: in your safe deposit box, at your spouse'soff-site office or out of town with friends or relatives.
  • Another option is to keep a written record of your belongingswith accompanying photographs. Then store the record in your safedeposit box.

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