In past disasters;

• Rural areas are the last to receive help from Civil Defence.  
• Infrastructure like power and phones can be out for weeks.
• Live wires come down.
• The farm becomes isolated.
• Stock becomes isolated.
• The terrain changes.
• Flood waters cause contamination.

Consider the worst-case scenario and identify what would be priority. Talk through with your staff potential situations. Something could happen while you are off the farm and they will be left to deal with potentially a crisis. Would everyone know what to do? Are you well equipped. A generator, flood pump, and even a cell phone power bank could be vital. Pre-planning by way of an Emergency Response Plan will at least give an element of certainty as to how you can cope in various situations. Who knows when and where the next disaster will strike. As Benjamin Franklin put it “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”