Businesses learn hard lessons when not prepared for disaster

When Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, Carlos Melendez couldn't contact the staffers or customers of his San Juan-based technology firm, Wovenware.

Melendez learned a lesson that would help his business during the next storm, that disaster preparedness includes being able to communicate with people when the emergency is over. He quickly signed up with an online messaging service — and got to use it two weeks later when Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico.

"The amount of damage was a situation we had never had before here on the island," Melendez says. But because he was now able to communicate with employees, he could determine how they were, arrange to meet with those able to get to the office and let customers know Wovenware was working despite the widespread devastation and lack of power and resources.

In this undated photo provided by Wovenware, Inc., Carlos Melendez, Wovenware Co-Founder and COO, poses for a photo at the Wovenware office in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. When Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, Melendez learned lessons that would help his business during the next storm. He got to use them two weeks later, when Hurricane Maria decimated the island, giving Melendez further instruction about the need to be prepared. (Jerry MonkmanWovenware, Inc. via AP)

Small businesses have already contended this summer with earthquakes in Southern California and Hurricane Barry in the Gulf Coast and Midwest, and the most intense portions of the Atlantic hurricane and Western wildfire seasons are still ahead. But many owners don't prepare for potentially devastating natural disasters, leaving them to learn during a crisis what they should have done differently. And even companies that do plan can be unprepared for the unique circumstances of a particular disaster — no owner in New Orleans could have predicted they'd be unable to operate for months, even years, after Hurricane Katrina turned the city and some of its suburbs into a ghost town in 2005.

Melendez also learned lessons from Hurricane Maria. His company had no power for two weeks, until the building's backup generator began working. But it broke down again, forcing Melendez to find work space for his staffers at other companies. Since then, Wovenware has brought in its own generators, moved its operations online and issued laptops to all staffers.

Sam Beasley learned businesses don't have to suffer catastrophic damage to be affected. Beasley owns Prevention Education Program, with counseling centers in Chico and Gridley, California, near the town of Paradise that was virtually destroyed in a massive wildfire last November. One of Beasley's offices was filled with smoke, but the business also suffered in other ways Beasley never expected.

FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2017, file photo destroyed communities are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico. Despite the potential for hurricanes and other natural disasters, many small business owners don’t prepare for the worst, leaving them to learn during a crisis what they should have done differently. (AP PhotoGerald Herbert, File)

"I was thinking I would continue to operate as always, but that's not true," Beasley says. He quickly discovered that his staffers were as traumatized by the devastation as people who lost their homes. There were more absences than usual, and those employees who came to work were struggling emotionally.

"Don't expect your staff, even in the mental health field, to bounce back quickly and fully in a natural disaster," Beasley learned. "All people in the region experience trauma if only from being in the presence of thousands of people who have lost everything."

Moreover, his income plunged. One office was closed for a week, then had no income for six more weeks. Clients had more immediate financial concerns, such as rebuilding their homes and lives, although many later returned. Beasley realized that he needed to pull together emergency funds going forward.

In this undated photo provided by Wovenware, Inc., Carlos Melendez, Wovenware Co-Founder and COO, right, talks with Christian Gonzalez, Wovenware Co-Founder and CEO, as they discuss the performance of a deep learning algorithm at the Wovenware office in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. When Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, Melendez learned lessons that would help his business during the next storm. He got to use them two weeks later, when Hurricane Maria decimated the island, giving Melendez further instruction about the need to be prepared. (Javier Vazquez RosadoWovenware, Inc. via AP)

Some companies change their entire operations in response to a disaster. When Hurricane Charley hit Florida, in 2004, Jimmy McMillan and his family evacuated. When the storm had passed, he realized that his Palm Coast-based insurance business was paralyzed.

"My office was without power for a week, our phones were down for the same amount of time, many of our records were on paper, and without those records I was completely flying blind," says McMillan, owner of Heart Life Insurance.

McMillan says he could have used technology available before the storm, scanning paper records and turning them into electronic documents, but hadn't done so. The lesson he learned was to get his company up to speed on business technology and reduce the risk of being shut down the next time a storm hit. The business is now paper-free and all staffers are able to work remotely. And, because of that capability, McMillan has been hiring people in distant cities like Jacksonville, Florida, and Roswell, Georgia, making it less likely he'd be completely shut down by a storm.

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2017, file photo, a resident tries to connect electrical lines downed by Hurricane Maria in preparation for when electricity is restored in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Despite the potential for hurricanes and other natural disasters, many small business owners don’t prepare for the worst, leaving them to learn during a crisis what they should have done differently. (AP PhotoRamon Espinosa, File)

When Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain in parts of the Gulf Coast in August 2017, Stewart Guss's Houston-based law firm lost power for nearly a week, knocking out its phone system that would have handled hundreds of calls from prospective clients. Guss and his fellow managers were able to create a workaround with their telecom provider, rerouting calls to cellphones. They distributed phones and laptops to key staffers and the firm kept its downtime to a minimum.

After the crisis ended, the firm developed a more concrete disaster operation and recovery plan. "One of the things that we did was, we played a game in which we tried to think about everything that could go wrong," Guss says.

The firm also transitioned from technology that was based in its office — the phones had been run by an onsite server — to one that uses the internet and therefore can be accessed from anywhere. And as the firm expands, its data is stored and accessed online, Guss says.

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2017 photo, some roofs damaged by the whip of Hurricane Maria are shown still exposed to rainy weather conditions, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Despite the potential for hurricanes and other natural disasters, many small business owners don’t prepare for the worst, leaving them to learn during a crisis what they should have done differently. (AP PhotoCarlos Giusti, File)

Earlier this year, the firm's new systems got a test run, when a freak winter storm in February made it impossible to get to the office. Guss and his staffers were able to work remotely.

"Most people didn't know we weren't in the office," he says.

Follow Joyce Rosenberg at www.twitter.com/JoyceMRosenberg . Her work can be found here: https://apnews.com

CAIRO (AP) — The U.S. military pressed ahead Saturday in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, as Iran called on people to turn the pilot in, promising a reward.

The plane, identified by Iran as a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing. It was the first time the United States lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the war, now in its sixth week, and could mark a new turning point in the campaign.

The conflict, launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28, has rippled across the region. It has so far killed thousands, upended global markets, cut off key shipping routes, spiked fuel prices and shows no signs of slowing as Iran responds to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes with attacks across the region. Missile and drone strikes continued Saturday with an apparent Iranian drone damaging the headquarters of the U.S. tech giant Oracle in Dubai.

The downing of the military planes came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.” The U.S. and Israel had boasted recently that Iran's air defenses were decimated.

Also Saturday, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said an airstrike hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. It is the fourth time the facility has been targeted during the war.

The agency announced the attack on social media.

Neither the White House nor the Pentagon released public information about the downed planes.

In an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, meanwhile, the military said it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East, without providing more details.

A U.S. crew member from that plane was rescued. But the Pentagon also notified the House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member on the fighter jet was not known. A U.S. military search-and-rescue operation continued Saturday.

In a brief telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to discuss the search-and-rescue efforts but said what happened would not affect negotiations with Iran.

Separately, Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces.

A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation said it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down or whether Iran was involved. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it went down was immediately known.

An anchor on a TV channel affiliated with Iranian state television urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to the police.

Throughout the war, Iran has made a series of claims about shooting down piloted enemy aircraft that turned out not to be true. Friday was the first time the Iranian public was urged to look for a downed pilot.

Iranian state media said in a post on the social platform X its military shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle. The aircraft is a variation of the Air Force fighter jet that carries a pilot and a weapons system officer.

An apparent Iranian drone damaged the Dubai headquarters of the American tech giant Oracle on Saturday after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened the firm.

The attack targeted the headquarters, which sits along Dubai’s main Sheikh Zayed Road highway. Footage obtained by The Associated Press from outside the United Arab Emirates showed damage to the building. A large hole could be seen in the building’s southwestern corner, with the “e” in “Oracle” on a neon sign damaged.

The sheikhdom’s Dubai Media Office, which speaks for its government, said a “minor incident caused by debris from an aerial interception that fell on the facade of the Oracle building in Dubai Internet City," adding there were no injuries.

Oracle, based in Austin, Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Guard has accused some of America’s largest tech companies of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operations against the Islamic Republic and said they were legitimate targets.

Earlier Iranian drone strikes hit Amazon Web Services facilities in both the UAE and Bahrain.

World leaders, meanwhile, have struggled to end Iran’s stranglehold on the waterway, which has had far-reaching consequences for the global economy and has proved to be its greatest strategic advantage in the war.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to take up the matter Saturday.

Trump has vacillated on America’s role in the strait, alternately threatening Iran if it does not open the strait and telling other nations to “go get your own oil.” On Friday, he said in a post on social media: “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.”

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began. In a review released Friday, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a U.S.-based group, said it found that civilian casualties were clustered around strikes on security and state-linked sites “rather than indiscriminate bombardment” of urban areas.

More than two dozen people have died in Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, over 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.

Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Will Weissert, Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro and Ben Finley in Washington contributed.

Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A boy who fled with his family following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits inside the van they are using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Iraqi women hold a portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in the Shi'ite district of Kazimiyah in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A woman checks a destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Saksakiyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)