(a) To qualify for this exception, the employer shall establish that:
(1) the plant closing, mass layoff, relocation, or covered reduction in work hours was a direct result of any form of a natural disaster including floods, earthquakes, droughts, storms, tidal waves, tsunamis, or similar effects of nature; and
(2) the employer provided as much notice as is practicable and available under the circumstances, whether in advance or after an employment loss caused by the disaster.
(b) Where a plant closing, mass layoff, relocation, or covered reduction in work hours occurs as an indirect result of a natural disaster, the exception does not apply but the “unforeseeable business circumstance” exception may be applicable.