Tornadoes can be powerful and devastating, spreading disaster in their wake. Unfortunately, they're also quite  common, especially in certain parts of the country. But no matter where your company is located, your disaster recovery plan should include tornado preparedness. 

Your first step in tornado recovery, and most disasters, is making surer your IT is secure. Creating a comprehensive IT backup plan is essential to keeping your daily operations running smoothly and will help reduce any overall downtime for your business.

Once your IT plans are in place, there's a lot than can go into making sure your business can withstand a tornado. Here's a checklist of some things to consider:

• Have your crisis plan and procedure information readily available for anyone on the premises. 
• Communication is important in times like this. Be sure to set up communication alternatives to reduce downtime. It also may help to establish an information line that people can call to get up-to-date information to help keep clients and employees informed while also preventing the spread of misinformation.
• Ensure that payroll, benefits and HR functions will remain operational throughout the crisis. 
• Train employees on what their roles will be during the disaster. Identify employees necessary for the critical operations of your business and make sure they are up to date and know what's expected of them.
• Conduct regular drills so that your staff knows what to do the second a tornado strikes. In addition, this offers a good opportunity to see what works and what doesn't so you can make changes as necessary.
• Stock up on emergency supplies, like water, first-aid supplies, generators, flashlights and other items. They'll come in hand when recovery workers enter the site afterwards to get your business up and running again.

These are but a few things to consider when preparing your business for a tornado strike. To develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan, getting help from an experienced business continuity consultant will ensure you're ready when something happens.