by John Henry
The Atlantic hurricane season is underway. To safeguard commercial properties against potential storm damage, owners and facility managers across New England are encouraged to shift from basic emergency planning to an active strategy of operational resilience. While hurricanes are often viewed as coastal threats, tropical storms can bring damaging winds and inland flooding far beyond the shore. Forecasters are expecting a busy 2026 season, so building preparation is essential for business continuity, tenant safety, and property protection.
Here is a checklist for commercial property owners and facility managers to use to make sure their building can withstand a major storm and maintain operational integrity:
- Inspect the Physical Shell: A thorough inspection of exterior systems, including roofs, windows, doors, and facades, helps identify loose materials or compromised seals before high winds can breach the structure. Unchecked structural breaches are the leading cause of severe interior water damage during high-wind events.
- Audit and Practice Barrier Deployment: Flood barriers, window shutters, and their associated mounting hardware should be audited to verify they are on-site and accessible. Waiting for an active storm warning to test these components often leads to unnecessary delays. Facility maintenance personnel should practice deploying these systems in advance to ensure quick installation when a storm approaches.
- Prioritize Internal Backup Power Loads: Managing backup power requires a precise understanding of overall energy consumption. Property managers should review utility bills and audit critical infrastructure to map out the exact wattage required to keep vital functions running. Because backup sources rarely power an entire building, essential loads must be prioritized. Life safety devices, refrigeration, security, HVAC, and communication systems should be ranked so emergency power can be directed where it is needed most without overloading backup generators.
- Lock in Vendor Relationships and Infrastructure: Emergency generator rentals and trade resources sell out quickly during a major regional event. Property managers should confirm active service contracts with electrical contractors, commercial roofers, and fuel suppliers well ahead of time. Facilities that rely on temporary generators can streamline their connection by installing a pre-wired generator tap box. Installing a tap box provides a safe, quick, and code-compliant connection point, avoiding the risks and delays of manual wiring in the middle of a blackout.
- Establish Routine Maintenance and Facility Records: Emergency systems are only as reliable as their routine maintenance. Regular inspections by certified electricians ensure backup equipment operates when utility power fails. Keeping updated single-line diagrams and electrical blueprints on hand also allows technicians to troubleshoot faults rapidly during an outage. Detailed facility records save critical time when restoring power after a disruption.
Property managers who want to track active systems can monitor updates through NOAA’s National Hurricane Center. Taking these operational steps now allows commercial facilities to protect their infrastructure, reduce downtime, and maintain business operations through severe weather events.
John Henry
John Henry is a project manager at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation.
