TAMPA - With Hurricane Ike breathing down the neck of South Florida, state officials are urging agencies, institutions and businesses to take precautions to protect their records.

“Disaster preparedness should be an important focus for all Florida businesses,” said Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning in a news release issued today.  “As we make plans to protect our homes and families during these types of emergencies, it is also crucial for us to ensure the safety of our vital records.”

Vital records are the ones that are needed to run an agency or business, such as payroll information, building plans, system operations manuals and insurance and financial records, the release said.

With a major storm imminent, the state urged agencies and businesses to take these basic precautions:

Move vital records and high priority items away from windows and below-ground storage into water-resistant areas. 

Electronic records should be backed up and stored in an off-site location out of harm’s way. 

Paper records stored on shelves, cabinets and other storage units can be wrapped in heavy plastic sealed with waterproof tape.

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