Ahoy Customers!
Having been involved with disaster recovery plans for several large organizations I wanted to take a few minutes to share some procedures to prepare for the upcoming Hurricane Irene. As of this morning the weather models indicate that we will be hit in one way or another. What we can expect are high winds over 100mph and heavy rains for a period of at least 8 hours as Irene is a slow moving storm.
So here are my recommendations:
The concerns are High winds and heavy rain
The high winds will create missile hazards that can go through windows and allow rain to damage the interior of your homes or offices.
If there is a construction site nearby your office or home make sure that any building materials have been secured to the ground.
The heavy rains will find their way through the roof and cause leaks also it will saturate the ground so trees are more likely to fall over.
Flooding is possible so if you are on the ground floor of an area that has been known to flood it is a good idea to get computers and power supplies up off the floor.
Disconnect the power from the computers before the storm arrives, unplug them from the wall, telephone poles are knocked over or trees fall on the lines it will create major power surges through the electrical system which can damage your equipment.
BACKUP!!!!!!!!!!
Make sure that your backups are current and take copies of your most critical files especially accounting files offsite with you.
Use flash drives or thumb drives to backup your data files. Take tapes offsite.
COMPUTERS
Make sure if you are on the ground floor to put your computers on top of the desk. If you have ever had a roof leak or not wrap the computers in heavy plastic bags. This will protect them if a window breaks or if the roof leaks. Alternatively if you are on an upper floor put the computers under a desk in case the ceiling collapses.
PRINTERS
Cover printers with plastic to prevent water of falling debris intrusion.
NETWORK DEVICES
If you have a router or Unified Threat management device. Disconnect the power and the cable leading to the Cable Modem.
AFTER THE STORM
To return systems to service begin by getting the network up and running first and then connect the PC’s and printers.
DO NOT Plug anything in that has suffered from water damage.
If there is a lot of damage in your area and power was knocked out do not rush to restore systems until the power grid comes back on.
If you need help restoring services feel free to call me.
If have any questions about preparations don’t hesitate to call me.
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Colonial Seaport Foundation