With the strong 8.9 quake just happened in Japan and living in California, I would have to think really hard about what happens before, during and after a natural disaster, more specific, a quake. Let’s imagine what people and businesses would have to deal with and who can benefit from the increased demand. I’ll be direct and might sound too materialistic but the fact is that companies are there to fill demand and that’s the reason for their existence.

BEFORE

• Awareness: the public needs to know what could happen here. Companies: printing services, graphic designers, advertising firms, public service ad brokers
• Education: teach people what to do, how to prepare for a natural disaster specific to their cities.
• Planning: prepare a plan to communicate with families, communities. Companies: communication companies, SMS, cellphone operators, food/water suppliers

DURING

• Communication: report damage, shut down equipment. Need: electricity, telephone, cellphones, radio, TV, Internet. Companies: power generator, batteries, cellphone maker/operator, radio, media/news broadcasters. Companies: ATT, VZ, local utilities (ED, PGE, etc.)
• Information: report from the damaged areas to central control to prepare aids. Need: similar to above

AFTER

• Food and basic necessities: water, can foods, light, tents, blankets. Companies: PG, KMB, UL, KFT
• Cleaning: remove debris, tear down houses, clean roads, remove fallen tree branches
• Waste Management: waste from the cleanup ops need to go somewhere and it’s gonna be huge. Recycling will be also significant since a lot of items (cars, houses) will be only partially damaged. Scavengers, recyclers will have to work hard.
• Burial/Funeral: sad but there will be casualties in such strong quakes. Companies: coffin makers, funeral services
• Rebuilding: home builders, architects, structural engineers, urban planners, inspectors, construction workers
• Repairs: replace broken windows, broken plumbing pipes, fix light poles, fix holes in roof, repaint house
• Insurance: bad for the insurance companies with many claims. They will need to hire temp people to handle incoming claims, documents.
• Labor: increase demand for temp workers to cleanup, file claims, rebuild homes/buildings
• Medical Supplies: needles, bloods, consumables within hospitals. Companies: BDX, MDT
• Medicine: painkillers, antibiotics,
• Hospitals: likely local hospitals but patients might have to move to a more special hospital with their injuries/conditions
• Transportation: helicopters, airlifts, airlines to bring aids, fuel/gas, people going to/from shelters, people go to find their loved ones
• Building Materials: rebuilding needs wood, nails, tools, paint, etc. Companies: Home Depot, Lowes, SHW
• Appliances: broken appliances will needed to be replaced. Companies: WHR