By their very nature, disasters are unexpected events. Severe weather, earthquakes, floods or fire can strike anywhere at any time with little or no warning. Disasters can irreparably change individual lives and halt the normal commerce of business, industry and government. Disasters cannot be prevented, but you can prepare for them and mitigate their impact.

To lessen the impact of a disaster, every city should do two things:

1. Develop a disaster contingency plan; and
2. Institute a vital records protection program.