Many real estate firms and other businesses once saw disaster recovery plans as a waste of time and money. But now it's time to dig out those plans, dust them off and update them for the new millennium.

According to a recent survey by the International Facility Management Association, 70 percent of respondents have disaster recovery plans. But, predictably, more than 74 percent did not have a terrorist response plan.

Results of another poll show that 56 percent of respondents have instituted company policy dictating that evacuation from a facility is necessary following onset of any potential threat, while 43 percent have no such policy in place.

September 11 is serving as a wake-up call to the real estate industry. Companies should not only create their own disaster recovery plans, but also prompt their tenants to do likewise.

So what exactly does a disaster recovery plan entail? As we learned last month, any company's first priority when disaster strikes must be caring for its employees. This means that building managers and owners must regularly review emergency evacuation procedures, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Employees should know where fire exits are located, know how to use fire extinguishers and learn first aid. Local Red Cross chapters are happy to come into office buildings and offer training courses.

And fire extinguishers are not the only items that should be located on each floor of a building. FEMA recommends easy access to portable battery-operated radios, multiple flashlights, extra batteries, a first aid kit and manual, several hard hats and fluorescent tape to rope off dangerous areas.

OK, perhaps this sounds extreme -- for the days before Sept. 11th. But real estate owners and managers certainly could encourage their tenants to keep these items handy in a supply closet. In the wake of such a massive terrorist attack, many tenants likely would rush to stock up. Owners and managers of California office buildings for years have encouraged similar actions by their tenants, who keep flashlights and hard-soled shoes handy in case of earthquakes.

After companies take care of their people, they must take care of business. Most disaster recovery plans include instructions for relocating offices and backing up electronic data in an off-site repository. The cost of this planning is negligible, taking up about 2 percent of a company's IT budget.

So why should real estate firms encourage their tenants to protect their electronic data?

Simple: 40 percent of businesses that have been hit by a disaster fail within five years. A quality disaster recovery plan can mitigate some of the effects of a tornado, earthquake or terrorist attack, making tenants more likely to be paying customers in the years to come. And remember, from an IT perspective, a "disaster" can be as simple as a back hoe chopping through communications lines.

Landlords with wired buildings and broadband capabilities may do well to partner with IT firms providing backup data services. By doing so, they can provide tenants with easy access to these services, while creating an additional revenue stream for themselves.

Landlords may also encourage their larger tenants to maintain off-site emergency offices in their other area buildings. Since the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, Morgan Stanley has had such a facility a few blocks away. This planning put the financial services company on firm footing. In fact, despite losing its World Trade Center offices, the company could have resumed securities trading on Sept. 12.

Fortunately, disaster recovery professionals have reacted to last month's events by providing a great deal of information to the public on planning and prevention. Check out www.recovery.ifma.wego.net, a recovery portal launched hours after the terrorist attacks by the International Facility Management Association. The site includes links to a wealth of planning tools, covering everything from hurricanes to tornadoes and from volcanoes to, of course, terrorist attacks.

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