If you live in or around Thibodaux, La., you've probably got at least two things on your mind in the spring -- crawfish and hurricanes. While we know this crawfish season has shaped up to be a great one, we're not so sure what's going to happen with this year's hurricane season.

We can hope it's another calm season, but hope isn't a plan. Hurricanes aren't the only emergency we should prepare for in Lafourche Parish or surrounding areas. Emergencies come in many forms -- tornados, floods, fires and the like.

Once the fire is out, the flood waters have receded, or the hurricane or tornado has passed, what's your plan? Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself when preparing for after the emergency.

1. Your business or home was flooded and now it's time to clean up. There's sheet rock to replace, electrical to inspect, and paperwork to restore. Anytime there's water involved, mold is a distinct possibility. Do you have the right contractors on call who can do this work for you with a quick turnaround? In the event of a large scale emergency -- such as a hurricane -- your contractors may have their own issues to resolve and won't be available to you when you need them.
2. Your business has windows and doors that can easily get damaged from high winds. You do not want to leave your business vulnerable to looters and further damage. If you've got the storage space and know-how, consider pre-cutting sheets of wood that will fit your windows and doors. If this isn't an option, know who you can call when the need arises.
3. You've had a fire and now it's time to clean up the soot, water and overall damage. Some items can be saved, other items will need to be thrown away. Where will you store the things that can be saved? How will you dispose of items that can't? And, how are you going to move everything now that it's water-logged, burnt and smells of smoke?
4. Is there sewage or other contamination involved? There are a lot of health risks involved now that disaster has truck. There might be exposed asbestos now or, even worse, biohazard that needs to be cleaned up.

This is just a brief list of the questions you should consider when planning for an emergency. ServiceMaster Quality Services is in Houma, La. has the professional resources available to help you when emergency strikes. Please contact us today if you need our help or professional guidance.