Retail and Service Resilience Survey: Hurricane Maria – Short Survey Version

Retail and Service Resilience Survey: Hurricane Maria
English

OMB Control # 0693-0078
Expira on Date 7/31/2022

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 information collection. Public reporting for this
information collection is estimated to be approximately 20 minutes per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, 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 at: 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, Attn: Dr. Maria Dillard,
Associate Team Lead for the NIST Hurricane Maria Program, NIST Engineering
Laboratory; or contact at [email protected].

O1

Introduction
The first questions ask for basic information about the nature of your business.

O1. What is your role with the organization? (Check all that apply)
Owner
Manager
Assistant manager
Senior employee with 5+ years at the business
Employee

I do not have a formal role
Other [please specify]:

Q2-Q3

O2. Which sector best describes your business? What is/was your primary line of
business?
Construction
Manufacturing
Retail trade
Accommodation and Food Services
Wholesale trade
Services / Information
Transportation and Warehousing

O3a. Was this business establishment operating when Hurricane Maria occurred?
Yes
No

O3b. Is your business location today the same as it was at the time of Hurricane
Maria?
Yes
No (the business has moved to a new location after Hurricane Maria)

O4 - O12

O4. In what year was this business established at the current location?

O5. How many locations did your business have at the time of Hurricane Maria?
a. In PR?

#

0

b. In the USA, outside of PR?

#

0

c. Outside of the US?

#

0

Total

#

0

O6. Is this business establishment still in operation?
Yes, it is still in operation
No, not in operation

O6a. What is the reason why your business is no longer in operation? (Please select
one.)
No longer in business mainly because of Hurricane Irma
No longer in business mainly because of Hurricane Maria
No longer in business mainly because of Hurricane Dorian
No longer in business mainly because of the earthquakes of January 2020
No longer in business mainly because of COVID-19
No longer in business because of other reasons, explain:

Q6b When did the business stop operation? An estimate is fine.
Month

Year

O7. Are the other Puerto Rico business locations still in operation?
All other locations are in operation
Some of the other locations are in operation
None of the other locations is in operation

O8. Did this business own or rent the building at the time of Hurricane Maria?
Own
Rent

Other (please specify)

O9a. Which describes your business? Remember that the business doesn't have to be
officially federally registered as such. (Select all that apply.)
Woman-owned business
Minority-owned
Veteran-owned
Family-owned
Immigrant-owned
Other (please specify)

O9b. How would you describe your business' ownership structure? (Select ALL that
apply.) 
Single owner
Partnership
Corporation
Franchise
Cooperative
Multi-location
For-profit
Non-profit
Other (please specify)

O10. What is the approximate square footage of the main building? (SQ. FT.)

O11. What is the type of structure of the main building?
Metal Building System
Steel frame
Concrete
Wood
Other, please describe:

A: Impacts from Events and Recovery

Section A. Impacts from Events and Recovery:
We want to know about the interruption caused by various disruptive events and this
business' recovery.

A1. Did this business establishment experience impacts to operations as consequence
of the following events? (Select one response for each item.)

COVID-19 in 2020?

Earthquakes of January
2020?

Hurricane Dorian in
2019?

Hurricane Maria in
September 2017?

Hurricane Irma, in
September 2017?

No
impacts

Some
Impacts

Significant
impacts

Don't
know

N/A

A1a. Rank the following based on how you assess their importance to the full recovery
of your business after a distributive event.
1
Full repair of property damages
Adequate number of employees achieved

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

Full building functionality achieved
Expected gross sales revenues achieved
Other, explain:

A1b. Did this business establishment FULLY recover to the pre-Hurricane Maria level
within a year (by September 2018)?
Yes
No
Don't know

What number of months were required?

A1c. Did this business establishment FULLY recover from Hurricane Maria during any
point in time between September 2018 (one year after Hurricane Maria) and March
2020, just before the COVID-19 Pandemic was declared a National Emergency?
Yes
No
Don't know

What number of months were required?

A1d. Once your business recovered, did you achieve gross sales revenue at the preHurricane Maria level?
Yes, gross sales revenue increased GREATLY compared to pre-Hurricane Maria levels
Yes, gross sales revenue increased SOMEWHAT compared to pre-Hurricane Maria
levels
Yes, gross sales revenue was about EQUAL to pre-Hurricane Maria levels

No, gross sales revenue DECREASED SOMEWHAT compared to pre-Hurricane Maria
levels
No, gross sales revenue DECREASED GREATLY compared to pre-Hurricane Maria
levels

A1e. After Hurricane Maria, was the gross sales revenue of your business impacted by
Hurricane Dorian in 2019?
Yes, greatly in a negative direction
Yes, somewhat in a negative direction
No
Yes, somewhat in a positive direction
Yes, greatly in a positive direction

A1f. After Hurricane Maria, was the gross sales revenue of your business impacted by
Earthquakes of January 2020?
Yes, greatly in a negative direction
Yes, somewhat in a negative direction
No
Yes, somewhat in a positive direction
Yes, greatly in a positive direction

A1g. After Hurricane Maria, was the gross sales revenue of your business impacted by
COVID-19 Pandemic?
Yes, greatly in a negative direction
Yes, somewhat in a negative direction
No
Yes, somewhat in a positive direction
Yes, greatly in a positive direction

A3-A9

A3. Did any of the following factors affect the gross sales revenue of this business
establishment during the following periods?

a. Supply chain issues (e.g., could not obtain products or lack of
inventory)

Yes

No

One year before Hurricane Maria?

One year after Hurricane Maria?

b. Economic Recession

One year before Hurricane Maria?

One year after Hurricane Maria?

c. Another factor other than loss of customers (please describe
below)

One year before Hurricane Maria?

One year after Hurricane Maria?

Yes

No

Other factor besides loss of customers:

The following questions ask about what utility services were disrupted at the business'
main building/campus during Hurricane Maria? [If your business does not use a
service, please select N/A; if you don't know, please select "Don't know"]

Utilities - (Questions A4-A7 repeat for each of the following utilities)
electric power
water/sewer
land-line telephone
Internet/IT
natural gas
Cell phone service

Section A: Utilities

A4.${lm://Field/2}. Did your business lose ${lm://Field/1}?
Yes
No
Don't know
Not applicable

A5.${lm://Field/2}. About how many days until ${lm://Field/1} was fully repaired? (days)

A6.${lm://Field/2}. Did your business have backup systems or emergency reserves for
${lm://Field/1}?
Yes
No
Don't know
Not applicable

A7.${lm://Field/2}. Did your business use backup systems or emergency reserves for
${lm://Field/1}?
Yes
No
Don't know
Back-up system damaged by Hurricane Maria
Not applicable

B: Property Damage

Section B. Property Damage:
This section asks about the property damage to this establishment as a result ONLY of
Hurricane Maria.

Property damage refers to BOTH structural damage and non-structural damage.

Structural damage examples include damage to roofs and walls; examples of nonstructural damage include broken windows, fixtures, damage to equipment,
furnishings, inventory/stock.

B1. Did your business suffer any physical damage due to Hurricane Maria?
Yes
No
Don't know

B2. Was any part of the roof gone?
Yes
No
Unsure

B2a. Was there any area where you could see the sky?
Yes
No
Unsure

B2b. Did the roof need to be patched or replaced?
Yes, roof needed to be completely replaced
Yes, roof needed to be patched
No
Unsure

B3. During and immediately after was water coming through the roof?
Yes, all areas or rooms
Yes, in some areas or rooms
No
Unsure

B4. How many of the windows and doors in the building do you think were damaged
by Hurricane Maria?
None
A few
Several
Most
All of them
Don't know
Not applicable

B5a. How many exterior walls of the building were damaged by Hurricane Maria? 
None
A few

Several
Most
All of them
Don't know
Not applicable

B5b. How would you describe the damage to the exterior walls caused by Hurricane
Maria?
Very little or no visible damage
Minor damages like marks or dents that need paint or patching for repair
Partial failure of one wall
Failure of one wall
Failure of more than one wall
Don't know

How would you describe the damage from Hurricane Maria to:

B6. Interior
finishes (e.g.,
floors, wall, and
ceiling surfaces)

B7. Contents
(furniture and
appliances)

B8. Inventory (raw
material, work in
process, finished
good)

B9. Machinery and
equipment

None

Minor

Moderate

Severe

Complete

Don't
Know

B10. How would you describe the extent to which water entered the building during
Hurricane Maria (for example, wind-driven rain), in terms of building area, with 0%
meaning no water intrusion and 100% meaning complete water intrusion inside the
whole building?  Slide to select %.

 0

Don't
know

Percent of water instrusion

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Don't
know

Percent of water instrusion

 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

%  

100

B11. This question asks about flooding from rising water

a. Did flooding from rising water occur at the building site? For example, within a
parking lot or a pathway leading to the facility.
Yes
No
Don't know

b. Did any floodwater enter the building?
Yes
No
Don't know

c. About what was the maximum water height inside the building? Please answer in
feet.

Don't know

B12. Was roof-mounted equipment damaged or dislodged by Hurricane Maria?
Yes
No
Don't know

B13. Did the damage directly affect the establishment's ability to provide goods or
services following the hazard event? Damage refers to BOTH structural damage and
non-structural damage.
Yes
No
Don't know

B14. When thinking about your business establishment, did the damage cause your
business to close completely?
Yes
No
Don't know

B14a. How long did it take for your business to reopen at any level of service? (days)

C: Essential Products and Services

Section C.Essential Products and Services:
For the following set of questions, think about Resources that you consider(ed) as
ESSENTIAL to deliver the main good or service supplied by your business
establishment. For the purpose of answering these questions, please EXCLUDE labor
and utilities such as water, gas, electricity and telecommunication.

C1. How many suppliers did you count on to provide these essential resources just
prior to Hurricane Maria?
1 supplier
2 suppliers
3-5 suppliers
6-10 suppliers
More than 10 suppliers

C1a. Did your business rely on Essential Resource(s) from suppliers located in Puerto
Rico?

One year before
Hurricane Maria?

One year after Hurricane

Maria?

Yes

No

C1b. Did your business rely on Essential Resource(s) from suppliers located in the
Continental US?

One year before
Hurricane Maria?

Yes

No

One year after Hurricane

Maria?

C1c. Did your business relied on Essential Resource(s) from non-US suppliers?

One year before
Hurricane Maria?

Yes

No

One year after Hurricane

Maria?

C3. During the first year of recovery (until September 2018), how would you describe
your business' access to essential resources?
There were no issues in the supply of any of the essential resources
There were MINOR issues in the supply that created a MINOR disruption in service
There were MINOR issues in the supply that created a MAJOR disruption in service
There were MAJOR issues in the supply that created a MINOR disruption in service
There were MAJOR issues in the supply that created a MAJOR disruption in service

C4. How did Hurricane Maria affect customer demand for your main service/product
line?
Increased greatly
Increased some
Stayed the same
Decreased some
Decreased greatly

C5. Did your business have on-site warehousing/storage before Hurricane Maria?
Yes, for resources and products
Yes, just for resources
Yes, just for final products
No

C6. Did you have any issues delivering your products/service in the year prior to the
occurrence of Hurricane Maria??

a. Transport issues

b. Accessibility to site
issues

Yes

No

C7. Did you have issue with delivering your products/services in the year following
Hurricane Maria?

a. Transport issues

b. Accessibility to site
issues

Yes

No

D: Employees

Section D. Employees

D1. Please indicate the total number of full-time AND part-time individuals (including
yourself) that your business employed at this location during the following time periods
a. 1 month Before Hurricane Maria

0

b. Immediately after Hurricane Maria

0

c. 1 year after Hurricane Maria

0

d. After Hurricane Dorian (August 2019)

0

e. Before COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in March 2020

0

Total

0

D2. Did your business experience any issues with employees during recovery? 

For the purpose of this question consider the recovery period extending after
Hurricane Maria and up until one year after Maria in September 2018.

a. Employee(s) could not report to work due to transportation
problems

b. Employee(s) could not report to work due to the need to fix
house

c. Employee(s) could not report to work because their children
not yet back to school

d. Employee(s) could not report to work because their children
not yet back to daycare

e. Employee(s) could not report to work because of disasterrelated physical health issues

f. Employee(s) could not report to work because of disasterrelated mental health issues

Yes

Don't
know

No

E: Resilience Tactics for Hurricane Maria

Section E. Resilience Tactics for Hurricane Maria:
The following questions ask about approaches businesses may employ to improve
resilience.

E1. Please tell me which approaches your business employed at any point to help with
RECOVERY following Hurricane Maria.

Moved to temporary or permanent new location

Reduced salaries

Obtained resources and/or goods from new supplier(s)

Brought on-line physical assets not previously in use

Teleworked

Exchanged or resource shared with other businesses (locally)

Reduced level of goods/services delivered to customers

Employed inventories or emergency stockpiles

Renegotiated the price and or delivery of products/services

Laid off some of the workforce

Sold some of the business’ assets

Pooled resources or formed partnerships with local businesses

Yes

No

N/A

Improvised production and/or service delivery process

Replaced resource(s) used in the production and delivery of goods/services
with a substitute

Yes

No

N/A

Other:

(Manufacturing)
E2. Was the inventory that was available to your business immediately following
Hurricane Maria sufficient to cope with any shortage of essential resources or
materials?
Yes
No
Don't know

E3. Which of the following options influenced your decision to not use/have greater
inventory available? (Select Yes or No for each item.)

The Inventory Tax
(Municipal Property Tax
Act of 1991) limits costeffectiveness of holding
inventory

My historical data or
models did not forecast
correctly to increase the
level of inventories

Supply chain issues

Financial Constraints

Other, please describe:

F: Mitigation

Yes

No

Section F. Mitigation:
The following questions ask about insurance coverage and other actions your
business did before Maria hit.

F1. Did you have insurance before Hurricane Maria hit?
Yes
No
Don't know

F2. Did you adopt any of the following insurance before Hurricane Maria hit?
Adopted?

Business liability insurance

Business property insurance on contents

Flood insurance on contents

Business income interruption insurance

Yes

No

Other insurance (specify):

F3. Did you file a claim on the following insurances following Hurricane Maria?
Filed claim?

Business property insurance on contents

Flood insurance on contents

Business income interruption insurance

Business liability insurance

Other insurance: ${q://QID261/ChoiceTextEntryValue}

F4. Did you receive the money by September 2020?

Yes

No

Received money?

Business property insurance on contents

Flood insurance on contents

Business income interruption insurance

Business liability insurance

Other insurance:  ${q://QID261/ChoiceTextEntryValue}

Yes

No

F5. Did you apply for any recovery assistance after Hurricane Maria hit?
Yes
No
Don't know

F6. Which recovery assistance did you apply or ask for after Hurricane Maria?

Crowdsourcing or peer lending

Financial assistance from any faith-based or religious organization

Private/bank loans

Local government funds

SBA (Small Business Administration) loan

Non-Government Organizations (NGO)

FEMA financial assistance

Other federal or state funds (specify):

Other assistance (specify):

Yes

No

F7. Did you receive your funding from any of the following during your recovery
period?

FEMA financial assistance

SBA (Small Business Administration) loan

Local government funds

Financial assistance from any faith-based or religious
organization

Non-Government Organizations (NGO)

Private/bank loans

Crowdsourcing or peer lending

Other federal or state
funds: ${q://QID263/ChoiceTextEntryValue}

Other assistance
(specify): ${q://QID265/ChoiceTextEntryValue}

Yes

No

F8. Did this business establishment adopt any of the following actions Before
Hurricane Maria? Select one response per item.

Assigned disaster responsibilities to specific employees

Having backup systems or emergency reserves for utility services
(e.g., electric power, water, etc.)

Had building structurally assessed by engineer

Developed a written emergency action plan or checklist

Backed up all important documents

Increased inventory

Develop a disaster recovery plan, business continuity plan

Adopted strategies to stay informed of weather watches and
warnings

Attended Meetings, trainings (in person/online)

Received disaster related information

Made plans for a temporary location

Boarded up windows, brace shelves

Performed emergency management drills regularly

Performed risk assessment to identify business vulnerability to
disasters

Yes

No

N/A

Lifted inventory and other supplies off the ground

Developed telework readiness plan

Yes

No

N/A

Another activity not included in this list. Please specify:

F9. In your opinion, how prepared is your business to deal with a hurricane like
Hurricane Maria today?
Very well
Well
Somewhat well
Poor
Very poor
Don't know

F10. You indicated that your business establishment is not well prepared. Why is that?
Please select all that apply.
Lack of money/resources
Lack of time
Lack of workers
Lack of information on how to mitigate and prepare for hurricanes
Other (SPECIFY):

G: Owner/Manager Demographics

Section G. Owner/Manager Demographics

G1. How many years have you worked as a business owner/manager? (years)

G2. Indicate type of diploma or degree:
Some high school
High School
Associate degree / some college
Bachelors
Masters or higher degree

G3. Which category best describes your sex? You may skip this question if you prefer
not to answer.
Male
Female

G4. How many severe disruptive events like Hurricane Maria have you experienced in
your life? (Please include at your place of business and at your residence) (Number)

G5. Regarding the recovery of the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, since
Hurricane Maria, would you say it is:
Fully recovered
Partially recovered
Still in survival/response mode
Will never recover

G6. Regarding the recovery of the municipios your business serves, since Hurricane
Maria would you say the municipios are:
Fully recovered
Partially recovered
Still in survival/response mode
Will never recover

Last question

What is the ZIP code of the main facility for your business?

If you would like to be contacted with outcomes from this research, please provide
your email address:

If you encounter any issues in completing this survey, please feel free to contact the survey helpdesk at
[email protected] or 787-510-6478.

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