Disaster Assistance:

Before

The New York State Archives is available to help you protect your records from disasters.  When a disaster is imminent, keep in mind the following regarding your records and collections:

• Review your emergency response plan to verify that contact information is current.
  


• Revisit your organization’s list of priority collections (vital records) and their locations.
  


• Verify your facilities’ layouts, paying attention to evacuation routes and locations of stairs, exit doors, fire hoses, water and CO2 fire extinguishers, emergency lights, alarm pull boxes, sprinkler shut-off valves, and first-aid kits.
  


• Identify and, if necessary, acquire alternative power sources such as generators.
  


• Gather plastic sheeting to cover collections, filing cabinets, and computer equipment stored in vulnerable locations.

Also, refer to these Archives’ publications:

• Services and Funding Available for Flood-damaged Records
  


• Electronic Records Disaster Preparedness and Recovery
  


• Salvaging Moldy and Contaminated Records
  


• Working with Disaster Recovery Vendors
  


• Preparing for the Worst: Managing Records Disasters

Check out these additional resources:

• Disaster Planning and Response Workshops
  The NYS Archives’ workshops provide information on how to judge your organization's risk of experiencing a disaster, reduce the chances that a disaster will destroy your records, prepare your organization for a disaster, and explain how to respond to a disaster safely and effectively. For information on where and when this workshop is being offered, refer to the Archives’ training page.
  


• Weather Updates
  The NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services provides weather updates including flood warnings, watches, and advisories.
  


• Emergency and Disaster Plans
  The NYS Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has developed a sample Comprehensive Emergency Management and Continuity of Operations Plan which provides a framework for state agencies to respond to an internal or external emergency. This plan briefly discusses planning and responding to records-related disasters. OEM has also developed a sample County Emergency Management Plan
  


• Emergency Preparedness Training
  Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER) developed records-related emergency preparedness training for state and local governments in the United States.
  


• Rescuing Family Records: A Disaster Planning Guide
  The Council of State Archivists’ practical manual describes how to protect important family records from disasters.
  


• Disaster Planning Resource (dPlan)
  See the Northeast Documentation Conservation Center’s dPlan for an online tool you can use to develop a disaster plan for your organization.
  


• Field Guide to Emergency Response This guide and its accompanying DVD from Heritage Preservation provide step-by-step instructions for handling an emergency, forming a disaster response team, and stabilizing your collections.