AUSTIN (KXAN) –  Ahead of the winter weather blowing through Central Texas this week, small business owners can check BeforeDuringAfter to ensure they are prepared.  The site is designed to be an emergency information hub – linking small businesses to information from government agencies and news sites for urgent disaster updates.  “Everything is based on either your local city or your local county, which then allows you to sign up for alerts that are most relevant to what's going on in your area,” said Justen Noakes, the organization’s executive director. “Right now we're focused on the state of Texas, and so all 254 counties, in all cities can access it,” Noakes said.  The organization launched in June 2024, so Noakes said the upcoming weather is the first opportunity business owners can utilize the service. “This is our first opportunity to cut our teeth and use the application,” he said. “But the planning tools that are included in the application are tried and tested.”  The platform was created through a public-private partnership with Texas Mutual Insurance Company, TEXSAR, the Texas State University Institute for Government Innovation, OneStar Foundation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, with additional support from Wells Fargo. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 40% of small businesses that close in the wake of a disaster never reopen, and an additional 29% go out of business within two years of a disaster. “Information is key to being successful during an incident,” Noakes said. “If you have a plan, and you can build a plan, that's great.”