Sometimes you can't be prepared

Thursday night all the forecasts said we should be prepared for a major storm. As Helene surged to a Category 4 just off the Big Bend of Florida, the track drew a straight line through the heart of Atlanta. And it could have still had Category 1 or 2 level winds by the time it reached us. We’re in a close suburb of Atlanta, known as the “City in a Forest.” All around us are towering hardwoods which have stood the test of time, but never faced a storm so strong. Between the rain, flooding, and wind, there was no way to know what to expect. Other than, if it truly hit as predicted, to prepare for the worst.

I made sure my family had shoes near their beds, a bicycle helmet if available, and plenty of flashlights in reach. All the batteries in the house were charged and located in one selection. Safety whistles and a megaphone were placed near our basement room which is also the storm shelter. Devices with cellular connections were charged up and placed in different parts of the house. As there was no way to know what might happen, we had to prepare for what mattered. How to move safely to the safest part of the house but also be able to communicate with the outside world if the worst happened.

While a tree falling is a real risk, I still considered it a low risk. Losing power for a while I knew would be extremely likely. And you never know when you lose power what else you’ll lose along the way – communications, water, and more depend on power. A widespread enough outage threatens all of it. We had recently gotten a battery backup for our refrigerator. While we own three gas generators, none of them still work. Two were rescues and barely worked when we got them. A third was a purchase a few years back after another extended power outage. So, I planned to use the battery backup for shorter outages and not worry about a gas generator (or fix one of them while the battery did its job).

We were as prepared as possible and went to bed uneasy of what may come and when it would arrive. Throughout the evening, it became clear the storm was not tracking as predicted. It was drifting further east. The Atlanta area was going to dodge a bullet from a direct hit. As the worst of the bands went by, plenty of rain fell, but the winds never got too strong. I woke up throughout the night, and noted we still had power and nothing major had happened near us. Then, just after 8am Friday, a small boom, and the power went out. The plans went into action – the fridge was plugged into the battery, and flashlights were distributed. A brief trip outside confirmed trees had fallen a few houses away - across the street and through all the lines.

You know then the power won’t be on quickly. And throughout the city, there were many similar situations. The emergency crews were working based on priorities. I spent time diagnosing and trying to repair the gas generators. Having no luck, we discovered a local store still had some in stock, so we got it, hooked it up, and took care of the problems of having no power. We even powered up the Internet hub and discovered it still worked, despite the lines being down. So, we had power to key parts, an Internet signal, and could basically ride it out however long it might take.

Fortunately, the power was restored on Saturday, ahead of schedule. But during the tree clean up earlier that day, the Internet lines were fully severed, taking away the signal. So power was restored, but Internet was gone. And hotspots just aren’t the same in my line of work and keeping a modern household doing what it does with the Internet. We found a way to share with a neighbor, whose Internet provider was still working. It was not a fully recovery – but at least allowed me to be able to work again. Especially considering the estimated repair for our Internet isn’t till Tuesday.

For us, it was an inconvenience.

As I write this, I appreciate how lucky I am to have lost power for about 36 hours, and to be able to be a little bit back online. Even during those 36 hours, the impact was small. I was able to keep work meetings, and everyone was safe, uninjured, and most of the businesses nearby were fully up and running. For us, it was an inconvenience. A small part of this was due to the steps we took to be prepared. A huge part was just the pure luck of the path the storm followed. We were prepared for worse, but grateful for how lucky we are.

Being prepared is important, but as we see the toll the storm has had in North Carolina and others, sometimes you can’t prepare for what happens. Unprecedented disasters don’t have pre-written plans. The storm was severe almost everywhere its path took it. It was deadly, devasting, and destructive. It’s very possible the steps I took to be prepared would not have been enough had it came here. Especially seeing what happened where it did go. It is a reminder to review how prepared each of us is and how we can be more ready for what may happen.

For those of us who are mostly past the worst of it and emerged relatively unscathed, it’s an opportunity to think about what we can do to be more resilient. How can we be more secure against the next storm or incident. And how, when it is worse, can we stay safe and get back quicker than the last time. Emergency preparedness is a key skill – not just for businesses and governments, but for each of us in our own home as well. And it’s something which strengthens the community as well, as we can share our luck or preparedness with those who did not fare so well.

I’m grateful for what didn’t happen here in Atlanta, but my thoughts are with those who took the full force of the storm and the damages which followed.

Two Years of "Week in Review"

This is Edition number 104 - representing two full years of writing a weekly newsletter. My original intent was to provide a "digest" of my posts from the prior week. As time went on, I began to add an opening "message." The topic has varied, and often depended on what might have been happening in my life that week. For a long while, I explored many leadership topics as well. Today reflects what has happened this past week, and I must admit, takes some of the "celebration" out of this two-year anniversary.

But I'm grateful to be able to write it today and to have spent the last two years reaching out to each of you to share a bit of my life or my thoughts.

Thank you for joining me in this journey!

Upcoming Events

Unfortunately, I can't kick off Cybersecurity Awareness Month tomorrow like I hoped. My broadcasting system needs good Internet, which I hope to have back by Tuesday. Once it's back, I'll reschedule the event.

But go ahead and pencil in Friday, October 18th, at 8am Eastern for my next cybersecurity coffee chat! It's a live, open room, and we'll be talking about Cybersecurity Awareness Month there as well. As with all audio events - the special guest is you!

Week In Review

Here's what was on the mind this past week:

• Risks during acquisitions (A poll)
• Implementing a compliance framework (My latest The National CIO Review? article)
• Intellectual property risks (A poll)
• Lucky in Atlanta

Feel free to jump in on the conversation, share your thoughts in the polls, and keep the conversation going!

In Conclusion

Again, thank you for spending the last two years with me (or however long you've been a subscriber). I truly appreciate each and every one of you taking time to read the thoughts and share your own in the comments.

Don't forget, if you are looking for a job and want to be in the job seeker spotlight, the You Just Found ME?? job seeker spotlight is still going, please reach out!

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I hope this coming week is exactly what you need it to be!

Thanks, as always!

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About Erik

Erik Boemanns is a technology executive and lawyer. His background covers many aspects of technology, from infrastructure to software development. He combines this with a "second career" as a lawyer into a world of cybersecurity, governance, risk, compliance, and privacy (GRC-P). His time in a variety of companies, industries, and careers brings a unique perspective on leadership, helping, technology problem solving and implementing compliance.

He's available to help you with any of this now too!