Equipment Rental for Natural Disasters

Equipment Rental for Natural Disasters

Natural disasters seem to be on the rise. Incidents causing severe property damage, interrupted business income and even loss of life impact many regions of America and other parts of the world. As a business owner, there’s not much you can do to prevent a natural disaster. However, there’s plenty you can do to protect your interests by properly preparing for catastrophic events.

Running a business requires access to the right equipment. That includes quality equipment you can count on to be there when a major disaster strikes. To make sure you’re ready for disaster response, you need an emergency preparedness plan. That plan must include disaster relief rental equipment.

Jump to a section:

Prepare for a Natural Disaster

According to the Insurance Information Institute, last year, natural disasters caused $160 billion in property losses worldwide. And $31.5 billion of that was in the United States where hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires led the list. Other natural catastrophes contributing to the destruction included winter blizzards, summer heatwaves and indiscriminate storm surge flooding. Business owners need to be aware of four main categories of natural disasters:

  • Meteorological events: These are primary weather-related events like extreme heat and cold, wind-induced forces such as tornadoes and hurricanes as well as extreme moisture conditions including rain, hail and snow.
  • Climatological events: These are secondary events directly related to weather extremes such as wildfires and drought. Indirect climatological events often create more damage than the primary event.
  • Hydrological events: These are water-induced disasters that are also secondary to meteorological triggers. Examples are flooding due to rain runoff, snowmelt and storm surge.
  • Geophysical events: These are disasters created within the Earth that manifest on the surface. Common geophysical events are earthquakes and volcanoes, which create disastrous secondary events like tsunamis and landslides.

Depending on your location, you’re at higher risk for certain events than others. For instance, if you’re on the American west coast, you have a higher risk of wildfire and earthquake damage than those in New England who suffer devastating blizzards. You might be in the southern coastal lands where storm surge floods often follow destruction caused by hurricane winds. Or, you might be in the country’s central farmlands, also known as tornado alley.

No matter where you are, there’s some form of natural disaster that looms ahead. While it’s impossible to avoid these catastrophes, there is a lot you can do to prepare. Part of an adequate plan is having reliable emergency response equipment solutions so that you’re ready when disaster strikes.

Natural disasters rarely occur without some warning. Aside from earthquakes and tornadoes, you’ll often have a few days of notice that a severe weather change is on its way. This gives you a bit of time to prepare for the event and its aftermath, but that’s not enough if you’re serious about protecting your business and being ready to fix the damage caused by a natural disaster.

The key to surviving a natural disaster is storm preparedness. It involves an overall strategy of anticipating what to expect and putting protection measures in place. Then, you need to be able to respond with the right equipment during the main event as well as during the days following whatever destruction your area suffers. Here are the main parts of a business emergency preparedness plan:

  • Anticipate what natural forces and consequences to expect
  • Consider your business’ specific needs
  • Anticipate your response to immediate and aftermath conditions
  • Create a written plan outlining your preparation for response
  • Establish an internal and external communication plan
  • Review your insurance coverage and adjust as required
  • Protect your company assets, including electronic data
  • Identify what critical equipment you need for defense and recovery
  • Build a relationship with an equipment rental provider

“Failing to plan is planning to fail” is not just an old saying. Failing to have an emergency preparedness plan can be devastating if you’re caught by surprise and have nowhere to turn. That includes not having built a solid business relationship with an equipment dealer who has the right tools and machinery to give you front-line defense during a natural disaster and the support to recover.

Being prepared for a severe natural event makes sound business sense. Your investment in creating an emergency preparedness plan will pay off when trouble comes and your business gets put to the test. Your investment in building an equipment rental relationship is also a critical preparedness component. That’s where The Cat® Rental Store comes in.

The Cat® Rental Store — Your Partner for Disaster Relief Equipment Rental

When you’re faced with a natural disaster, there’s no better partner to have than The Cat Rental Store. With over 1,300 locations across North America, The Cat Rental Store has every equipment resource you’ll need to face nature’s force and follow through with a successful recovery. Whether it’s temporary power solutions or massive earthmoving machinery, partnering with Caterpillar provides you with peace of mind and proven support.

At The Cat Rental Store, we help you prepare for whatever natural disaster you can expect in your region. For many parts of America, losing electrical power is a primary concern. Cat Rental Power has you covered when your power goes down by supplying you with electric power generation rentals. These generator sets range from light-duty units that run basic electrical support to large-capacity industrial generators that give you a nearly unlimited power supply.

Maintaining electrical flow during a storm or other natural event is critical. We’ve got you covered there. However, The Cat Rental Store goes above and beyond power generation as your natural disaster relief partner. We’ll supply you with a wide range of equipment, from pumps to trucks.

At The Cat Rental Store, we believe it’s part of our responsibility to help you prepare for devastating natural events. That includes helping you with an emergency preparedness plan. But first, let’s look at why many businesses don’t have a solid emergency preparation and recovery plan:

  • “It’ll never happen to me:" Just because it hasn’t happened before doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Practically every North American region is vulnerable to natural disasters. For most American businesses, it’s not a matter of “if.” It’s a matter of “when.” Caterpillar understands this reluctance to prepare, so we do everything we can to make your equipment rental needs easy.
  • “It takes time:" We understand this, too. At The Cat Rental Store, we know that time is money. You operate a busy business, and you spend a lot of valuable time responding to customers. But, we also understand that when you’re down during and after a natural disaster, and you can’t take care of customers, you can easily lose them to competitors.
  • “I don’t know what to do:" This is another common concern we hear at The Cat Rental Store. That’s understandable as well. However, we know that making an emergency preparedness plan is invaluable insurance that helps you be ready when disaster strikes. The first part of your plan should be making sure The Cat Rental Store partners with you to assess your needs and ensure you’re prepared to respond.

 

You’re probably wondering what we mean by “preparing” for a natural disaster. Well, we endorse every component in a general business emergency preparedness plan. Those components include the principles of anticipating, considering, identifying, establishing, protecting, creating and reviewing a comprehensive plan as well as building relationships to make sure support is always there.

At The Cat Rental Store, we go beyond the basics. We get specific by addressing every business component you have and ensuring you’re ready for any natural catastrophe you can imagine. Here are some business items to take care of during and after a disaster:

  • Employee communication: Everyone on your internal team must know what to expect and how to perform when their routine upsets and they’re required to work under trying circumstances.
  • Customer communication: Your client base must know you’re capable of operating under abnormal conditions, and that you’re equipped to serve them through a difficult period.
  • Insurance provisions: Your insurance provider will want assurance that you’re prepared for a natural disaster and that you’ve done your part to mitigate their risk.
  • Alternate measures: During a natural disaster, you must be ready to adapt to changing conditions. For example, you may need to work from a remote location or have auxiliary equipment in place to carry on operations.
  • Equipment coverage: This is a critical part of your emergency preparedness plan. You need to have equipment at your disposal to handle jobs outside your normal operations.

 

The Cat Rental Store specializes in supporting businesses when they have to operate outside normal parameters. There’s no greater support test than being there during an emergency, and Caterpillar has the experience to back you up when things get bad. We have the services to support you and a wide selection of specialized tools, machinery and equipment to help you weather any storm you’ll suffer.

When you partner with The Cat Rental Store for emergency preparedness and protection against natural disasters, you’re sure to be covered. You and your customers are assured Caterpillar’s support will be up and running regardless of what comes your way. Here’s what The Cat Rental Store offers for natural disaster support:

  • Fast and immediate equipment rental supply
  • Top-quality equipment that does the job
  • Well-maintained rental equipment you can rely on
  • Large selection to cover every need
  • Multiple locations across North America
  • Knowledgeable staff to help you select equipment
  • Excellent communication lines to keep connected

With hundreds of locations across the North American continent, our dealers know their local conditions. Cat equipment suppliers have the necessary experience in their climatic zones to anticipate what equipment is needed in their area to meet natural disaster requirements. That includes having the right equipment ready and knowing what equipment you need for natural disaster response.

Equipment for Natural Disaster Response

The Cat Rental Store maintains an extensive equipment inventory. Many items are top-quality Cat brand items that you know you can depend on. Caterpillar is a long-established manufacturer, dealer and rental equipment provider with a proven track record of getting the work done regardless of conditions.

At The Cat Rental Store, we also offer you other machinery and tool brands beyond the Cat brand name. That’s because we want to make sure you have access to every asset you need when disaster strikes and you’re faced with new challenges. Whether you need Cat equipment or another form of support, we’re here to provide you the best possible equipment for natural disaster response.

1. Rental Power

If you’re like most business owners, the first thing you think of when planning for an uncontrollable natural event is electricity. That’s because the first storm-related problem is usually a power outage. When the grid collapses and you’re left all alone, you’ll immediately benefit from your relationship with us through the electric power generation rentals we provide.

The Cat Rental Store provides you with full-service power generation equipment. These are independent generator units you can trust to back you up and keep you going until your grid service returns. Depending on the event, that could be days or weeks. Here are the emergency response equipment solutions you need to get you back up and running:

Caterpillar has decades of experience in the temporary power generation equipment business. We deliver dependable generators that are clean, well-maintained and won’t let you down in any emergency. Make sure you have the right generator in your emergency preparedness plan, and that your Cat rental equipment provider has it standing by.

Your Cat Rental Store also has other excellent natural disaster response and storm restoration equipment on hand. It’s one matter to build a defense to survive hurricane-force winds or a tornado while it’s mid-storm. It’s entirely different to restore power and rebuild damaged property after the storm center has passed.

The Cat Rental Store partners with you to supply all the equipment you’ll need to weather an entire natural disaster event. In the aftermath, you’ll likely need earthmoving equipment to restore roadways, aerial lifts to fix powerlines and pumps to drain stormwater. Here are the most popular Cat equipment pieces available to you for storm restoration and natural disaster response measures.

2. Earthmoving Equipment

Earthmoving equipment is a large category. Our inventory covers what you’ll need to clear paths, clean-up debris and restore order on the ground. Check out these top-notch machines for rent at The Cat Rental Store:

  • Track-type tractors: Dozers are invaluable when it comes to pushing and clearing large volumes of debris deposited in natural disasters.
  • Skid steer loaders: Rubber-tired skid steers are exceptionally versatile for disaster aftermath, especially when equipped with work tool attachments.
  • Compact track and multi-terrain loaders: These lightweight machines work perfectly on sensitive surfaces like lawns and patios, preventing further damage.
  • Wheeled loaders: For moving large volumes at a fast pace, Cat wheel loaders are first-choice machines for disaster remediation.
  • Backhoes: When you need the best of excavating ability combined with volume loading capacity, nothing beats renting a conventional backhoe.
  • Full-sized excavators: Digging out from a natural disaster might require a lot of power, and this is where you’ll want to rent a full-sized hydraulic excavator.
  • Mini-excavators: If you have remedial and restoration work to do in close quarters, the answer is a highly maneuverable mini-excavator.

3. Rental Trucks

Renting a truck is a solution for ridding your site of debris and fall-out from a storm. Natural disasters like a tornado or a massive snowstorm can leave debris that has to be trucked away. No matter what volume you’re faced with, The Cat Rental Store can equip you with one of these rental trucks:

  • Dump trucks: For fast work in removing common material, renting a dump truck is a logical solution for post-storm cleanup.
  • Articulated trucks: Natural disasters can leave huge waste volumes in their trail, and a large-capacity articulated truck might be your removal answer.
  • Crane trucks: If you have serious lifting to do before or after an oncoming weather event, your solution is renting a crane truck.
  • Vacuum trucks: Sewers and culverts can become blocked during disasters, and sometimes the only restoration method is using a vacuum truck.

4. Miscellaneous Equipment

There are more natural disaster mitigation and remediation rental equipment pieces out there besides electrical generators, earthmoving machinery and big trucks. If there’s a natural disaster or storm-caused problem, then The Cat Rental Store has a solution. Here are more examples of equipment that Caterpillar has ready:

  • Aerial equipment rentals: For elevated work after a disaster or serious storm, you’ll need safe and reliable equipment. Working at height is a serious safety concern, and OSHA has strict rules governing elevated operations. The Cat Rental Store has what you need with a reliable line of boom lifts, scissor lifts, material lifts and vertical personnel lifts.
  • Pumping equipment rentals: Water is a huge problem during recovery after a hurricane or other major storm. If you have standing water from flooding or surging, you have to get rid of it quick. The Cat Rental Store has an excellent rental line of portable, towable and submersible water pumps.
  • Material handling equipment rentals: Before or after a natural disaster, you might have to move various kinds of material. That’s a tough job without the right equipment type. Fortunately, Caterpillar has a complete line of material handling equipment, including straight mast forklifts, general material handlers and large-capacity telehandlers.
  • Work tool equipment rentals: Every disaster has its unique problems. Finding a solution for storm preparation or cleanup doesn’t have to be difficult when you rent a work tool attachment from The Cat Rental Store. We have blades, buckets, brooms, forks, grapples, hammers and even snow clearing attachments that work with Cat excavators, skid steers and compact track loaders.
  • Miscellaneous equipment rentals: Your local Cat Rental Store won’t let you down when it comes to preparing or responding to a natural disaster. We branch out to other high-quality brand names and partner with them. When preparing for a weather event or other potential catastrophe, consider renting miscellaneous equipment like heaters, pressure washers, light towers, containers and even portable toilets for sanitation needs.

Make The Cat Rental Store You Emergency Preparedness Partner

At The Cat Rental Store, we have the right rental equipment for every job. We’re here in fair and foul weather to make sure your business is adequately protected. The Cat Rental network has everything you need in one convenient location, so when you’re faced with an impending disaster, you’ll know where to go.

There’s sure to be a Cat Rental Store near you. With over 1,300 connected Cat Rental dealers across North America, we’re ready for anything Mother Nature can throw at you. Whether you’re building an emergency preparedness plan or responding to a passing storm, you can be confident in the full support you get from The Cat Rental Store.

Contact us today for a quick quote on our inventory. Call us at 1-800-RENT-CAT or contact us online.

Find The Cat Rental Store Near You