As I write this, the after effects of Hurricane Florence are still being felt in the Carolinas as flooding is still threatening the low-lying coastal plains. The human and livestock toll have yet to be fully calculated, and the scope of the cleanup is stunning. According to the New York Times, “more than 6,000 National Guard soldiers and thousands more federal disaster-response workers have spread across the region. They have six million emergency meals to hand out, four million liters of water, 700,000 blankets and 6,000 cots. Along with state and local governments, federal officials will also have to manage a daunting bureaucratic challenge as they attempt to rebuild and revive a vast area that covers hard-hit mega-farms, tourist zones and pockets of deep rural poverty.”

Indeed, the recovery will take years and this timeline does not take into consideration future storms, which by all accounts will just keep getting worse. What does that mean for data centers? All the tax incentives in the world won’t matter when the building is under water. I will leave the professionals to parse out the details but undoubtedly, disaster preparedness and recovery starts with site selection. Locating in areas that are not disaster-prone has got to be a key consideration. For a look at disaster preparedness on a facility level, Ed Spears from Eaton is on hand to discuss nine steps to take to be prepared and protected when disaster strikes.

Caroline Fritz

Editor