With Mother Nature able to unleash unexpected conditions at any time of year, it's important for businesses across all industries to keep themselves protected. Not having commercial property insurance in place could make it more difficult for an organization to resume normal operations after bad weather.
Blizzard-like conditions first started to sweep across Washington on Sunday evening, carrying over into Monday morning. According to the Associated Press, the highest winds hit Sunday evening with an 84 mph gust recorded at the mouth of the Columbia River and an 81 mph gust on the central Oregon coast.
Seattle-based meteorologist Ted Buehner, told the AP that Winds early Monday hit 60 mph on the Washington coast and 55 mph in the south Puget Sound area. Additionally, heavy snow accumulated in the mountains, with 2 to 3 feet expected to have build up by Tuesday morning in the Washington Cascades.
"A wide variety of winter weather is clearly affecting the entire state," Buehner said. "It's the strongest storm of the year, so far."
Julia Hughes, spokesperson for Puget Sound Energy, said in a statement that the company recorded 17,000 outages, mostly in the south King County area, southeast of Seattle. According to Seattle City Light, their 11,000 reported outages were restored by 8 a.m. on Monday morning, after going out on Sunday evening.
While Washington might be more prone to severe winter weather, all states along the Pacific seaboard would be wise to ensure they have comprehensive insurance coverage. For example, California business insurance will guarantee that company owners in the Golden State can have their organization bounce back from a number of events, including natural disasters or otherwise.
Working with commercial insurance specialists helps business owners find policies that account for all of their daily business needs and any unexpected emergency situations. That way, a company is covered for whatever comes its way.