There are several layers of preparation that Atlas engages in to be prepared for power outages and natural disasters that threaten us and our customers’ operations. Firstly, we are constantly training and preparing for complex and cascading disasters that pose threats to the electrical infrastructure, fuel supply chains and logistics.
This past spring, prior to Hurricanes Florence and Michael, I represented Atlas and trained in FEMA’s National Level Exercise involving 146 government organizations, US Military, and private sector organizations simulating a CAT4 hurricane devasting the east coast. This exercise was so realistic and complex that it made us think and prepare more effectively for the real hurricanes that made landfall in the late summer.
Secondly, Atlas has a robust national footprint of fuel supply and trucking terminals that allow us to react to disasters with ample resources staged outside disaster zones. Our diversity of supply and trucking assets give us scale and much needed bench strength to help local markets get back on their feet with critical commodities like diesel fuel for generators and gasoline for businesses and retail stations starved of supply resources due to power outages and refinery shortages.