TALLAHASSEE, FL

As Hurricane Ike heads toward the Florida coast, the Florida Department of State is urging agencies and businesses to take measures to protect vital records from potential damage.

"Disaster preparedness should be an important focus for all Florida businesses,” said Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning. “As we make plans to protect our homes and families during these types of emergencies, it is also crucial for us to ensure the safety of our vital records.”

Vital records are those records necessary for running an agency and its critical services. Some examples of common vital records include payroll information, building plans, system operations manuals, and insurance and financial records. If there is time before a storm arrives, agencies should take the following basic precautions to protect records from wind and water damage:

· Move vital records and high priority items away from windows and below-ground storage into water-resistant areas. Avoid areas under roofs.

· Electronic records should be backed up and stored in an off-site location out of harm’s way.

· Paper records stored on shelves, cabinets, and other storage units can be wrapped in heavy plastic sealed with waterproof tape.

More information on hurricane preparedness, as well as disaster recovery, is available on the Heritage Emergency National Task Force Web site at http://www.heritageemergency.org. The State Library and Archives of Florida also offers disaster recovery information on its Web site at http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/disasterrecovery/.