The electricity has been restored at nuclear reactor number two. Tepco gets electricity up and running again in the power center of the Fukushima power plant’s number two reactor. They are trying to activate the cooling system and get a handle on the crisis at hand. Traces of radioactive iodine from the number one power plant have been found in Tokyo and more places in the Kanto area. They have found some radioactive iodine in food in places such as Tokyo. As of April 12, 2011 the status of this disaster has been upgraded to equal that of the Chernobyl disaster.
           The devastating earthquake then the horrible tsunami that followed has had many effects on people and families including deaths, injuries, and missing people. Family members are worried of what happened to their loved ones and friends. Are they dead, alive, missing? There are many wonders of what has happened to them. The official number of dead and missing people keeps increasing. As of March 19, more than 18 thousand people!
           The damage done by the earthquake and tsunami is horrifying! Most of the houses are gone or very little of them remain. Cars have been carried with the waves. Most people are living in their cars. They wait in long lines to get gas for heat in their cars.
         The damage and lives that have been taken in the earthquake and tsunami is devastating and this will never be forgotten. It might take a while for Japan to recover but they are a strong country and hopefully will.

     Some things you should do to get ready before a disaster

1. You should take pictures of your property right when you get it. If not and a disaster occurs it will be hard to prove the extent of the damages later.                            

2. Make sure your business-critical records and communications systems are baked up off of the site so as soon as you need to you can receive key client information.

3. You should have a response team in place before a disaster strikes. Assign a spokes person to lead in the event of a loss.
              Things to do after a disaster strikes

4. It’s your responsibility to perform emergency work like putting up tarps. Removing wet carpet and prevent mold. Another good idea is to install fencing where needed to protect your things and keep other people from getting hurt.

5. You should always be aware of contractors asking you to sign contracts for non-emergency services. You should ideally not hire a contractor to rebuild you house, business, etc. until you have fully agreed on a repair for the damage that has been done.

6. You should always keep track of the damage that has been done take pictures of the damage of take a video of it before you clean any of the damage up.

7. Request a complete copy of your insurance policy! Read and make sure you understand all of your rights under your insurance policy before you enter it into any serious discussions. You should get professional help to understand what your policy actually covers.

8. You should document all of your activities and all of your money spent during the process of fixing the damages. Keep track of all the receipts after the damage including property replacements such as fences, barns, etc. This will provide the documentation a disaster recovery professional requires to present expenses to your carrier, and you will know which of your expenses will be refunded as you rebuild.

9. Make decisions that are the best in the long run of your business. Most policyholders expect the insurance company to tell them what to do to save their business.

10.  Hire your own experts! The insurance adjuster sent by your carrier to see the damages is exclusively working for the insurance company, not for you. It’s your responsibility to keep insurance claims.