Compound Risks – SME Recovery from a Pandemic in the Face of Natural Hazard Risks

Compound Risks – SME Recovery from a Pandemic in the Face of Natural Hazard Risks
OMB CONTROL NO. 0693-0078
Expiration Date 07/31/2022
We understand that the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting your business. We hope to learn how
businesses like yours are adapting to the circumstances and how this may or may not be connected
to broader weather-related stressors your business may face.
Both your perspective and time are exceptionally precious, especially during these uncertain times.
Our efforts will be greatly enhanced if you can spend a few minutes filling out this survey. We ask for
no sensitive information and we will not identify you or your business. If your business has more than
one location, please answer for only one location.
The purpose of this survey is to understand what support businesses like yours need and to
communicate those to those who may be able to provide assistance. We’d like to learn about
practices taken that have helped reduce the impact of COVID-19, especially in the face of future hazard
events.
If you feel uncomfortable answering any of the questions, you can skip them, or exit the survey at any
time.
This survey should take less than 15 minutes to complete. You may opt to receive the aggregate
results of the survey (at the end).
Thank you for your time and participation.
Jennifer
Applied Economics Office, National Institute of Standards and Technology
1. What is your role with the organization? (check all that apply)
Owner
Manager
Assistant manager
Senior employee (5+ years at the business)
Employee
I do not have a formal role
Other (please specify)

2. How many full-time AND part-time individuals did your business employ at this location at this time last
year?
1-5
6-10
11-20
21-50
51-100
101-150
151-200
201-250
More than 250

This survey section asks about direct effects of COVID-19 (coronavirus) on your business.
The COVID-19 Pandemic was declared a National Emergency on March 13, 2020. Please answer the following questions
considering the period since then.

3. If there were any public health restrictions (e.g., stay-at-home orders, movement limitations, limits on public
gatherings, or requirements for social distancing), is/was your organization designated as:
Essential
Non-essential
Some segments were essential, some were not
Not sure/don’t know

4. How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the continuity/stability of your day-to-day operations? Please
check all that apply
Closed to the public: less than 1 week
Closed to the public: 1-2 weeks
Closed to the public: 2-4 weeks
Closed to the public: 4 weeks or longer
On-site operations ceased (or were greatly reduced), but remaining staff teleworked
Reduced days/hours of operation
Increased e-commerce
All staff worked from home
Remained fully open to the public
Added services to business (e.g. contactless pick-up, delivery, etc.)
Other (please specify)

5. How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the operations of your organization since March 13th?
For one week or less
Stopped operations due
to external mandate
Stopped operations due
to financial issues
Decrease in revenue
Increase in revenue
Problems with supply
chain/receiving or
shipping inventory
Issues with delivery of
products to customers
Decrease in customers
Increase in customers
Other (please specify)

For 1-4 weeks

For more than 4 weeks

6. What are the most important factors that influenced the choice to temporarily close, change hours, or
staffing changes? (Please select no more than 5)
National State of Emergency
Stay/Local stay-at-home orders
Restricted access to the business – by local order
Employee safety
Lack of customers
Disruption to supply/inventory delivery
Universities and school closings
Nearby businesses closed
Local government information/suggestion
Fear/concerns of infection (self, employees, customers, and/or suppliers)
Lack of personal protective equipment and/or cleaning supplies
Staff’s unwillingness to report for work
Media coverage
Tight business margins
N/A
Other (please specify)

7. Please select your most trusted sources of information for COVID-19 (Please select no more than 5)
Local TV news
National TV news
Internet-based news media
Local government (state or municipal)
Community leaders
Radio
Internet sources (outside of news outlets)
Faith-Based community
Friends/family
Social Media
Cellphone apps
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Sectoral/Trade news
Other Federal Government sources
Other (please specify)

8. Since March 13, 2020 has your business REQUESTED/PLANNED use of any of the following financial
assistance? (check ALL that apply)
SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)
SBA Debt Relief
USDA Loan Programs
Other Federal Programs
State and Local Government grants/loans
Banks (commercial loan)
Banks (e.g., existing debt flexibility – payment deferments)
Personal liquidity (savings)
Family and Friends
Crowd-funding
Postponment in payment (rent, utilities)
Faith-based group support
Non-profit organization support
Insurance (for business interruption)
Direct lending (e.g., Venture capital, angel investors, Fintech)
This business has not sought financial assistance from any source
Unsure
N/A
Other (please specify)

9. Please describe any changes your organization has made to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic since
March 13th. Please check all that apply.
Changed products produced/offered to consumers
Offered contactless pick-up or delivery
Increased e-commerce
Curb-side pick-up made available
Prioritized inventories to some customers
Reallocated products based on inventory levels
Increased staff
Reduced staff
Allowed employees (some or all) to work remotely
Negotiated longer payment terms for suppliers so the company can keep its cash longer
Collected money owed from customers as early as possible
Renegotiated current and future prices with my suppliers
Exchanged resources or information with other organizations
Implemented short-term alliances with my suppliers and/or competition
Other (please specify)

This section asks you about risks from natural hazards that your organization faces. We are interested in your organization’s
experience in the past and planning for them in the future.

10. What natural hazard(s) is/are of concern for your organization’s location? (select all that apply)
Coastal storms
Drought/water scarcity
Earthquake
Extreme cold
Extreme heat/heat waves
Flooding
Hurricane
Storm surge
Tornado
Tsunami
Wildfire
Winter storms
None
Other (please specify)

11. Since March 13th, 2020 has this/these event type(s) occurred at your location?
Yes, with severe impacts
Yes, with minor impacts
No
Do not know
N/A

12. Was your organization’s response to this event affected by COVID-19?
Yes
No
Do not know

13. How many of these natural hazard events have affected* your organization in the past 10 years? An
estimate is fine *affected = caused at least a one-day closure
0

10

20+

14. What type of mitigation/preparedness actions have you taken in the past (before COVID-19) to prepare
your organization against natural hazards?
Floodproof building(s) - permantent (e.g., flood gate)
Floodproof building(s) – temporary (e.g., sand bags, boarding doors)
Secure a secondary storage location
Assess building to ensure construction meets building code standards
Perform risk assessment to identify business vulnerabilities (to specific hazards)
Adopt strategies to stay informed of weather watches and warnings (e.g., NOAA Weather Radio, commercial apps)
Assigned disaster responsibilities (i.e., emergency management function) to specific employees
Perform safety drills regularly (e.g., shelter-in-place, evacuations, telephone tree)
Develop a written emergency action plan/checklist
Back-up all important documents (digitally or stored at secondary location)
Lift inventory and other supplies off the ground to prevent water exposure
Perform an insurance check-up to ensure adequate insurance coverage
Increase insurance coverage, if needed
Develop/update telework plans
Establish or increase remote/online sales capacity
Social media account use to provide operations information to the public (e.g., closings)
Minimize supply chain vulnerability through multiple source strategies
Develop a connection to local emergency management officials
Clear debris/dry vegetation away from structures
Back-up power generation
Maintain/tune-up equipment for debris/snow removal
Keeping an emergency fund (“rainy day” money on-hand)
None
N/A
Other (please specify)

15. Have actions taken by your organization to prepare for natural disasters in the past helped prepare/cope
with the impacts of COVID-19?
No
Do not know
N/A
Yes, please specify (e.g., insurance purchases, teleworking experience, emergency supplies or finances, etc.)

16. Will your planning for natural hazards change in the future due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
No
Do not know
N/A
Yes (please specify)

This section asks about your organization’s future plans.

17. Please select your organization’s top concerns regarding the impact of and recovery from COVID-19.
(Please select up to 5, below)
Hurricane risk and potential impacts
Flood risk and potential impacts
Earthquake risk and potential impacts
Wildfire risk and potential impacts
Tornado risk and potential impacts
Other natural hazard risk and potential impacts
Financial impact on operations, and/or liquidity, capital
Going out of business
Lower productivity
Domestic supply chain disruption
Loss of funding (governmental and non-profit organizations)
Operational issues associated with restarting
Loss of market share
International supply chain disruptions
The duration of lock-down and quarantine period
Uncertainty over recurring Covid-19 outbreaks in the future
Safety/contamination issues from shutdown infrastructure (e.g., water sitting in pipes)
Safety/contamination issues from working with reopening during social distancing
Workforce safety to protect employees from infection
Workforce reduction concerns
Rehiring, replacing, and retraining workforce upon reopening
Decreased consumer confidence and spending
Global recession
Impacts on tariff and trade issues
Increased international political controversy
None
Other (please specify)

18. Has the organization implemented steps to reduce risks to the concerns you indicated above?
Yes, already implemented
Yes, in the process of implementation
Yes, planning to implement
No, but would like to learn more
No, do not plan to do so
Unsure

19. Do you feel you have the resources you need to protect your business against the risks you identified
above?
Yes
No
Unsure

20. What resources, knowledge, or support do you feel you need to be better protected against the risks you
identified ?

21. How much time do you think will pass before this business returns to its pre-COVID conditions (e.g.,
operations)?
1 month or less
2-3 months
4-6 months
6-12 months
12-18 months
More than 18 months
Unlikely to resume operations at that level
Unlikely to reopen at all
Do not know
Other (please specify)

This section asks you to provide some details about your organization and yourself.

22. Which sector best describes your business?
Construction
Manufacturing
Retail trade
Accommodation and Food Services
Wholesale trade
Transportation and Warehousing
Finance and Insurance
Information (e.g. radio, newspaper, television, telecommunications)
Real estate, rentals, and leasing
Professional, scientific, and technical services
Health and medical services
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Food processing, agriculture
Natural resource management
Fuel production
Fishing/aquaculture
Other (please specify)

23. When was your organization founded at this location?

24. In which state is your organization located?

If not within the US, please specify

25. In which ZIP code is your organization located?

26. How would you describe this organization? Check ALL that apply
Woman-owned business (need not be Federally registered as such)
Minority-owned (need not be Federally registered as such)
Veteran-owned (need not be Federally registered as such)
Family-owned (need not be Federally registered as such)
Single ownership
Partnership
Corporation
Franchise
Cooperative
Multi-location
For-profit
Non-profit
Other (please specify)

27. How important is each group to your organization’s recovery from COVID-19?
LEAST important
Your neighbors
Friends and family
Neighborhood
organization(s)
Suppliers
Customers
Business Groups (e.g.
Chamber of Commerce)
State Organization(s)
Federal Organization(s)
NOAA Sea Grant
NOAA Weather Ready
Nation
Manufacturing Extension
Partnership Center
Faith-based
organization(s)

MOST important

N/A

28. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:
Strongly
DISAGREE

Strongly AGREE

N/A

COVID-19 did not impact
my business in any
significant manner
COVID-19 posed the
greatest risk yet to my
organization’s survival
The impacts of COVID19 will leave my
organization unable to
cope with a natural
disaster, should one
occur, in the next year
I am not concerned
about a second wave of
COVID-19 and the
potential effects on my
organization

29. How many years have you worked as a business owner/manager?

30. Please consider providing your first name and the best business email address, below. We’d like to followup with you on your responses and send a report of the findings.
E-mail address
FIRST name

31. Is there anything else you would like to share?

A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for
failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the
information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is
0693-0078 . Without this approval, we could not conduct this survey/information collection. Public reporting for this information collection
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gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information
collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection,
including suggestions for reducing this burden to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Attn: Dr. Jennifer
Helgeson, NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, MS 8603, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1710, telephone 301-975-6133, or via email:
[email protected]