Last weekend I visited the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. For now the Figge is home to some of the outstanding works belonging to the University of Iowa Museum of Art in Iowa City. The works were moved to the Figge when the university museum’s building was inundated during the flooding on the Iowa River in 2008.
"Half Moon" by Deborah Butterfield, cast bronze with polychrome patina (photo by M. Lukens)
The ultimate fate of the university’s museum is unclear at this time, since FEMA has ruled that the university must repair their current building rather than relocate out of the flood plain. Meanwhile, the Figge is able to show some of the university’s collections.
As floods become increasingly common on small rivers that have never before made national news — Little Souris? Suddenly everyone knows its name — it is disappointing to see FEMA’s inability to work with those who are looking to develop innovative solutions to avoid future disasters.
The University of Iowa Museum of Art knew where to send their collection when disaster struck. Do you have a backup plan? Here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself:
- If my family needed to evacuate, what are our possible destinations?
- Are there any personal or business records that I need to keep in paper form?
- If a main road is closed, what alternatives are available?
- If a disaster made bank ATMs unavailable, do I have some personal cash?
- If my business’ phone lines were out, how could we communicate with customers and suppliers?
- Are my business records securely backed up offsite?
- Do all of my employees know what to do in the event of an emergency?
- How can I protect my memorabilia? What’s worth protecting?
Do you need someone to help you think through your strategies in case of emergency? Contact me. I’ve helped lots of people make emergency preparations for their homes and businesses.