IT & Natural Disasters

As an IT Service Company or an IT Department, dealing with natural disasters can be challenging. 2005, I had my first adult experience with a category five hurricane - Katrina. At the time, I was living in the Tampa, Florida, area for one year and working as an IT Manager for an advertising company. Now, back then, we did not have the Cloud technology we have now. Back then, files were saved onto folders on a local (on-premise) server. The server's drives used a RAID controller (A?RAID?controller is a device used to manage hard disk drives in a storage array),?and ultimately, all the data on the server drives backed up onto a physical tape nightly.?

Just before the storm made its way to our area, I remember conversing with our Chief Operations Officer and explaining that the scheduled tape backups were due to start at midnight. But, I would make an exception, and as soon as everyone saved their work and left the office, I would bypass the scheduled backup and begin a backup immediately. I told him I would wait a little while at the office to ensure the server was backing up the most vital data needed to keep the business going in case of a disaster. The most critical data needing backup was our most recent Advertising files, about 5,000 hours of graphic designer work for our Yellow Pages clients. Let's say roughly $550,000 worth of work. It seems like a little, but for an advertising company back then, UFF! It was serious.??

Once I felt confident and saw the data start backing up onto the tape backups, I calmly jumped in my vehicle. I began my 40-minute journey, including crossing over the 6-mile-long Howard Franklin Bridge (pictured below) and over to my apartment. Now, let me tell you about my apartment then. It's in Coquina Keys, the most beautifully situated Waterview apartment EVER! I was on the first floor, and the apartment's balcony sat right on the edge of the bay. I could fish and catch right from my back porch. It was AMAZING! Here is a link to the view of the apartment - Coquina Key Apartment First Floor View. We'll get back to that.?

So, finally, I made it home and prepped for my first-ever category-five hurricane. Now, this is my first time living in Florida. I had no hurricane experience. So, once I started watching the news, I realized I wasn't even supposed to be in my apartment. My zone (which I wasn't sure what that meant) was an indefinite flood zone, and I was supposed to evacuate. "What! Are you kidding me?" I thought. A few minutes later, I got a knock on my door, and building management said, "Sir, you have to evacuate." I told the person, "Sure, no problem, give me an hour," but then I thought, WHERE THE HECK AM I going to go? So, I told myself, "These are my last few hours here in this cruel World!" LOL The storm began its way through the area, and I could hear and see the rain and loud sounds of the damage being done outside. I remember the winds being so loud that I thought the windows would break. The tide behind the apartment got so high that it began to splash against my back door, and I watched, staring to my doom. Eventually, I faced my possible death and went to bed, hoping to wake up the next day.?

The Next day, around 5 AM, I received a call that woke me up. I realized I was alive. I looked out the window, and the storm was still active and splashing; wind and sounds were still in play. I answered the phone, and it was my boss. He said, "Jason, I have some news. The roof collapsed in a couple of areas in the office, but the worst is in the server closet." In shock, I answered, "No! Is there water damage on the equipment?" he replied, "I'm not sure; I just know the roof of the server room is caved in." Unfortunately, back then, we did not have cameras on our phones (this all happened a year before the iPhone would be released). We had cell phones, but not with the technology we take for granted nowadays. I could not assess the damage from my apartment or tell how much of the data was backed up because the internet was out of commission at the office. I was in the dark. I had nothing; my only option was to drive through the storm, make it to the office, pick up the tapes, and place them in a safe place.?

As I began my journey to the office, I had to cross the 6-mile-long Howard Franklin Bridge (pictured below). When I was much younger and not as wise as now, I began my journey and thought I would enjoy this adventure. I took out my cannon camera and began to record the storm as I crossed the bridge filled with water from the tide rising to 30 feet onto the bridge. The 60-mile-per-hour winds made the bridge sway side to side and my little car swerving. I felt I had to record it because my friends and family in NY would never believe me! LOL?

I made it to the office safely. When I walked into the server room, water was all over the closet floor; luckily, the server equipment and backup unit were placed about two feet above the floor. The drop ceiling tiles fell on top of the KVM monitor, and pieces floated on the flooded floor. My concern was the backups; when I looked at the Backup Exec software, to my surprise, all the most critical data was fully backed up (with a few minor errors on some files). I saved the backup, pulled the tapes from the backup unit, put them all in a box and started my journey back to my apartment. Back then, I knew bringing the tape backups physically with me was not the proper protocol, but with these circumstances, it was the best I could do. When I got home, I wrapped the backup tapes worth over half a million dollars in a couple of towels and placed them in a cardboard box under my bed.?

My story is extreme for that time, and I should've never taken the risk I did and placed myself in harm's way. Nowadays, technology has evolved along with processes and best practices. Below are some of the proactive tasks you can take to avoid any severe damage or regretful decisions:?

• Contact your clients to ensure they are prepared for the hurricane and have all the necessary backups.
• Make sure your own internal hosted services are backed up and secure.
• Maintain constant communication with your clients before, during, and after the hurricane. Keep them informed of any updates or changes to your services.
• Remember your staff and their families. Ensure that they are safe and well taken care of.

Natural Disasters can be unpredictable, but with the proper preparation and communication, you can help your clients and staff weather the storm.