For employers, preparation for hurricane season requires more than securing bottled water and batteries to wait out the storm. It requires an emergency action plan which clearly sets forth the company's procedures in the event of a hurricane. This plan should include the preferred means for communicating with employees, an updated contact list, shut-down procedures, evacuation routes, risk assessments for hazards that may be faced following a storm as well as guidelines for the closure of the employer's physical location. The emergency action plan should be routinely updated and reviewed with each employee when changes are made.

Employers should also be cognizant of the recent updates to the forecast system put in place by the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Center.

This year, the National Hurricane Center has implemented changes to its forecast system to allow for the issuance of storm surge watches and warnings. According to the National Hurricane Center's May 23, 2017 Revised Update on National Hurricane Center Products and Services for 2017, the National Weather Service will issue storm surge watches and warnings to highlight areas along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts that are exposed to a significant risk during tropical cyclone events. A storm surge watch will be issued if there is a “possibility of a life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the shoreline” in a specified area within 48 hours. A warning will be issued when the storm surge threat approaches 36 hours.