The worst case scenario: when the next terrorist attack or pandemic strikes, will your company have a plan--and be ready to execute it?

Bird flu is on Tom Toomey's mind. The Chief Executive Officer and President of United Dominion Realty Trust (UDRT), the fourth-largest REIT in the country, wants to be certain that his company has a plan--and knows how to execute it--before the next disaster strikes.

Bird flu, or avian flu, is already under the scrutiny of local governments and school districts nationwide and has created a media buzz internationally as more cases are detected across Europe.

According to public health experts, bird flu has the potential to become the greatest public health crisis in recorded history, threatening the lives of one of every eight people, and--if it crosses the Atlantic--some 40 million Americans.

And that isn't chicken feed.

Having lived through hurricanes and floods, Toomey said he's aware of how catastrophic events can alter people's perceptions of reality. He also has a unique perspective on the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

On that day, he left a meeting in New York City at 7 a.m., just two hours before the planes crashed into the Twin Towers in the city's financial district. He flew to Washington, D.C., in time for a 9 a.m. conference held across the street from the White House. Once there, he was told of the plane crash into the Pentagon.

His first reaction, he recalled, was to flee. His second was to try to understand the scope of the events and come to grips with the fact that the United States was under attack.

"I learned several things that day," Toomey said. "One was about human reaction in the face of extenuating circumstances. The other was the scope of an event of catastrophic proportion, impacting all social and economic fabric."

THE MOST UNDERUSED RESOURCE

Toomey said businesses must be prepared to overcome setbacks whether they are caused by natural disasters or terrorist attacks. "We face disasters every year and, in many respects, they have similarities," Toomey said. "The bottom line is business disruption: You need to plan for it by building a process so you react in a well-thought-out manner to difficult circumstances."

Today, he said, the talk is about bird flu. "It is how you manage before, during and after the occurrence that separates those companies that are successful and those that become victims," Toomey said.

Toomey has his own take on how UDRT must prepare for the next manmade or natural catastrophe, which he believes is inevitable. He defines preparation as a process that comprises risk assessment, preventive measures, emergency response, business continuity and employee and workplace initiatives--all preventive measures designed to minimize the effect on employees and residents and to diminish business disruption.

Toomey cited a December 2005 report from the Alfred P Sloan Foundation (see sidebar, page 65), which examined the disaster and terrorism preparedness of eight leading U.S. corporations. The report provided insight into how those companies approached disaster preparedness and recommended how to brace for such circumstances by using plans developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Red Cross.

"We have 270 individual communities and each has a different set of facts, so there's really no one template for disaster preparedness because there's no common scenario," Toomey said. "For example, in Florida, we don't work on earthquake preparedness, but we do work on hurricane preparedness. What you need is an established leader onsite who is familiar with all aspects of the community as well as the surrounding buildings and employers.

"Your emergency plan needs to be simple, not a 30-page document that you can't find when you need it, but three to four pages of essential information and instructions that is immediately accessible to help guide the onsite team on what to do and who should do it," Toomey said. "One common error is to store an emergency plan on a personal computer. What happens when there's a power loss or cell phones can't be used? Common sense is the most underused resource."

ASKING THE CRITICAL QUESTIONS

UDRT's Executive Vice President of Property Operations Martha Carlin and Executive Vice President of Talent Management Sara Jo Light are preparing for a bird flu epidemic.

Toomey said they are working through scenarios, discussing a range of topics from corporate health policies to economic disruption estimates. They are posing critical questions: How will 2,100 employees and their families be inoculated? What if there's a vaccine shortage? How do we deliver preventive information? What policies for sick pay and time off need to be developed?

On a broader scale, Toomey said UDRT is developing scenarios of an entire geographic sector or community of UDRT employees being affected. First, replacement teams of employees would be needed to manage communities.

"At that point, we are even discussing having to fly employees in, the length of time they may be needed and how to cover the temporary personnel loss at another location," Toomey said. "It is inevitable that something will happen and we've got to be prepared with a plan."

IS THIS IN YOUR PLAN?

While no template or book has every answer about how to prepare for emergencies or terrorist attacks, experts at the March 2006 NAA Capitol Conference Government Affairs Roundtable discussion offered the following advice.

Have a basic plan. Don't try to draft a separate strategy for every conceivable emergency situation.

Be aware of the surrounding area. Property managers should be observant and take note of what type of buildings are near the community and how they might affect the emergency plan. Also, apartment staff should open lines of communication with neighbors regarding emergency preparedness

Wait on evacuation. If a crisis occurs, don't evacuate the property immediately. Wait for authorities to assess the situation and determine if residents should evacuate, and if so, where they should go. The worst thing to do is direct residents to an area that authorities have not yet declared safe.

Get to know your officials. Property managers should become acquainted with their district commanders at the police stations and their "beat" patrol officers. In times of crisis, a local policeman or law official will have the most valuable information about how to handle a crisis.

Consider the residents. In all circumstances, property managers should consider what residents would want or expect their property managers to tell them and act accordingly.

Screen residents with care. Make copying an applicant's ID part of the resident screening process. If a person applies for an apartment and his name shows up on the FBI Wanted List, don't panic or try to apprehend him. Instead, call the authorities immediately. The police can obtain a subpoena quickly to confirm if the person poses a threat.

Call the FBI about suspicious activity. The FBI realizes that apartment managers will know about suspicious resident activity before the FBI does. (The FBI performs dozens of "suspicious package" investigations every day.)

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR SIMULATED TERRORISM RESPONSE EXERCISE

NAA invites its members to participate in the U.S. government's TOPOFF series of biannual exercises to test its National Response Plan and other preparedness strategies. Participants in this "Command Post" exercise, or "CPX," known as TOPOFF 4 CPX (T4 CPX) will practice addressing a fictional, simulated significant major terrorist event that takes place in the Washington, D.C., area.

Participation in the exercise is open to the private sector and "active play" will run from noon Wednesday, June 21, until noon Thursday, June 22. Participation is from your own office via the Internet and conference calls. You do not have to travel to the simulation.

This opportunity is offered because NAA is a member of the Real Estate Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC)---a public/private partnership dedicated to anti-terrorism and preparedness. Please contact NAA's Vice President of Government Affairs Barbara Vassallo at [e-mail] or call 703/518-6141 Ext. 106 for more information.

TERRORISM AWARENESS INFORMATION POSTED ON NAA WEB SITE

NAA is a member of the Real Estate Information Sharing Analysis Center (ISAC). ISAC provides detailed information about counter terrorism and emergency preparedness, as well as bird flu. This comprehensive information is available at www.naahq.org by clicking on the "Homeland Security" quick link near the bottom, left of the NAA home page.

UDRT's SIX-POINT PLAN

Following is UDRT's six-point disaster preparedness program, adapted from "Disaster and Terrorism Preparedness. An Examination of the State of Corporate Preparedness in the U.S. Among Eight Leading Corporations."

1. RISK ASSESSMENT

* Establish a process

* Determine the variety of threats

* Identify facilities

* Identify people

2. PREVENTIVE MEASURES

* First line of defense

* Investments

3. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING

* Crisis command quarters

* Practice drills

* Bring in local EMTs and others

* Assemble emergency kits

* Personnel response plan

4. BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING 

* Redundancy in communications, information technology, etc.

5. ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT

* Who is in charge and how can they be reached

* Alternative forms of communication if power is lost or cell phone service is disrupted

6. EMPLOYEES AND WORKPLACE

* Personnel disaster kits

* Work at home

* Planned transportation

* Relocation

* Counseling

ABOUT THE STUDY

"Disaster and Terrorism Preparedness. An Examination of the State of Corporate Preparedness in the U.S. Among Eight Leading Corporations" is a report prepared by The Bellwether Group Inc. for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

This pilot benchmarking project focused on a select group of Large corporations. Each corporation experienced business disruptions in the United States, arising from natural hazards and more than half from terrorism. (The full report can be found at www.bellwethersecurity.com.)

Best practices reported by participating companies included air protection, business continuity planning, communications (including a corporate crisis blog), drilling and training, employee protection, mailroom protection, perimeter security, risk assessment, surveillance and threat warning.

B. Kreisler, ImPrint LLC, is a marketing and public relations consultant to the multifamily housing industry. She can be reached at [e-mail] or 703/366-2861.