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Director of Marketing · BMS CAT

Alexis Dawson

2 articles
Contributor Brief·Alexis Dawson · 2 articles
Updated Aug 5, 2026

Indirect disaster costs dwarf direct damage; preparation requires supply chain thinking

Alexis Dawson argues that organizations systematically underestimate disaster risk by focusing on direct physical damage while ignoring cascading business interruption across supply chains and indirect operations. She advocates that true resilience preparation must account for upstream and downstream dependencies that continue to disrupt operations long after the initial event passes.

2x

business interruption costs exceed direct physical damages in flooding events

“Business interruption caused by indirect flood exposure often exceeds direct property damage costs.”

When floods don't hit you directly, business interruption still can

Categories of organizational exposure to flood-related disruption

Direct physical facility damage1
Supply chain supplier facility closure2
Critical vendor interruption2
Logistics infrastructure disruption2
Employee commute/accessibility collapse2

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11%Direct physical
Direct physical facility damage
Supply chain supplier facility closure
Critical vendor interruption
Logistics infrastructure disruption
+1 more

>50%

of organizations lack visibility into indirect supplier flood exposure

Facility teams must map dependencies beyond their own property perimeter before disaster strikes.

How Facility Teams Can Prepare Before the Next Hurricane

The business that doesn't flood can still fail when suppliers, logistics, or labor supply networks flood.

When floods don't hit you directly, business interruption still can

“Most disaster recovery plans ignore the second and third-order effects that paralyze operations.”

Themes:Indirect disruption exceeds direct damage in disaster planningSupply chain vulnerability is an underestimated exposure vectorPreparation requires mapping external dependencies, not just facility hardening

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