As Hurricane Season Looms, It's Disaster-Preparedness Time

Nerval's Lobster writes "In 2012, hurricane Sandy smacked the East Coast and did significant damage to New Jersey, New York City, and other areas. Flooding knocked many datacenters in Manhattan offline, temporarily taking down a whole lot of Websites in the process. Now that fall (and the tail end of hurricane season) is upon us again, any number of datacenters and IT companies are probably looking over their disaster-preparedness checklists in case another storm comes barreling through. Ryan Murphey, who heads up design and capacity planning for PEER 1 (which kept its Manhattan datacenter running during the storm by creating a makeshift bucket brigade to carry fuel to the building's 17th floor), offers a couple basic tips for possibly mitigating damage from the next infrastructure-crushing disaster, including setting up emergency response teams and arranging contracts for maintenance and fuel in advance."

Comments

Hurricane season is just about over.

[edibobb]

Looming? Most North American hurricanes this year have already happened! Is this some kind of spam?

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[Anonymous Coward]

Since NY was affected by a hurricane in the fall, hurricane season now officially starts in the fall. Everyone else be damned.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[ackthpt]

Summer is the Pre-Season - Early Autumn is the real season, depending upon how moody Dame Nature feels.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[alexander_686]

You know that even with the rate increase you are getting a huge barging? Florida’s state insurance scheme deficit keeps on getting bigger and bigger each year. Private insurance companies are fleeing as fast as they can because of caps set up by the state insurance regulator- which is why there is no competition.

Either build cheap houses that are cheap to rebuild after they are blown down or build them so that can take a hurricane. Stick built houses just is not the answer..

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21579470-americans-are-building-beachfront-homes-even-oceans-rise-youre-going-get-wet

http://www.economist.com/node/4085798

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[ebno-10db]

Makes sense.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[PopeRatzo]

Since NY was affected by a hurricane in the fall, hurricane season now officially starts in the fall. Everyone else be damned.

Since the Northeast is by far the most densely populated section of the US, they kind of have a point.

I think only something like 1/3 of the population lives West of the Mississippi, even though it's over 2/3 of the land area.

The financial center of the US is in New York (and one of the financial centers of the world) and to a great extent, the cultural center is there too.

I know the flyover folks believe they are important, and they are, in an abstract, humanist way, but newsflash: Most of the produce in the store comes from South of the border now.

The Northeast, and specifically NY, is mainstream America.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[Maxo-Texas]

I think you are ignoring some critical points.

Like the population affected by gulf and southern atlantic hurricanes.
You know... texas with 25 million (up by 5 million since 2000 alone) vs new york with 19 million ( essentially no growth since 2000).

Another 16 million in Florida (which has been hit by almost every major hurricane at some point). 10's of millions more in loiusiana, alabama, mississippi, the carolina's, and arkansas.

You have an argument culturally (tho california has come on a bit with it's 33 million people). Nothing is replacing Broadway and off Broadway.

New York is visible financially (tho it's slowly being routed around due to cost issues). The largest component of job loss recently has been financial jobs (20,000 in 2009 alone).

The hurricane season officially began on June 1 and will end on November 30.
It was predicted to be a rough season.

So far, it's a dud.

In the 20th century, of the 64 major hurricanes to hit the US, 51 hit in september and august.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[Jeremy Erwin]

Well, so far, we've had two category ones and 7 tropical storms. In early August, NOAA predicted 13-19 named storms, including 6-9 hurricanes, 3-5 of them major.[1]

so, expect a big pileup in October and November. Maybe even a storm to ring in the new year

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[msauve]

"The Northeast, and specifically NY, is mainstream America."

+1 Funny.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[sir.veilance]

Looming? Most North American hurricanes this year have already happened! Is this some kind of spam?

So, you can predict the future? Hurricane season runs from June to November. September is the most active month for hurricanes in North America. Still, I would not call it "looming". That's the kind of thing one would say in April or May. That's when we start thinking about them on the Gulf Coast.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[NJRoadfan]

The NYC metro area alone has 25+ million people, the most densely populated region in the country. Add in the rest of the Northeast Corridor and it doesn't take much for even a small sized storm to cause a lot of damage. While Texas and Florida have the numbers, they are relatively spread out and a hurricane rarely effects the entire population at once.

All of the major tropical storms that have hit NJ since I have been alive have struck between the end of September or in October, its when the ocean is the warmest. That is not including countless Nor'easters (What the "perfect storm" of 1991 began as). Many of which pack a wallop, particularly when they are fueled by remanent moisture from former tropical storms. (an October 1996 Nor'easter comes to mind there)

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

When "official" assholes predicted a far worse than average hurricane season this year, I snapped a picture of Good Morning America's graphic.

May 24, 2013k
GMA 2013 Hurricane Season
NOAA
13-20 Named Storms
(Normal 12)
7-11 Hurricanes
(Normal 6)
3-6 Major Hurricanes
(Normal 3)

These clowns have no real scientific knowledge about even basic things like regression to the mean, or a simple grasp of chaos theory and statistic. They are acting (probably deliberately, the alternative that they are stupid is also unsettling) like religious doomsdayers saying, "The end is nigh!" The goal isn't accurate prediction -- it's whipping up more frenzy for, presumably, political purposes.

Global warming or not, trying to make hurricane season predictions like this is asinine, and doesn't even understand GW's implications for such (like tiny increases in average energy, or, once in awhile, statistically one more storm per season.) It's the exact same thing as saying heat waves are due to it, when a half degree increase on average is just that -- on average -- so a heat wave would be a whisker hotter or longer than before. Again, ignorance of chaos theory.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[davester666]

Course, one of the downsides of "build them so that [they] can take a hurricane" is the minor problem of sinkholes all over the place in Florida...

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[Cederic]

How big is your house? $2700 is excessive. Hell, $800 is excessive. I'm paying around £105 a year to cover buildings insurance for all causes (including wind, flood and other storm damage) except for terrorism, warfare and possibly (I'd need to check) damage caused by things falling from aircraft. Including the aircraft themselves.

That's in an old coal mining area, so subsidence is a definite danger - but is covered.

Maybe your house is 8 times the size of mine. Very possible. So a simple metric: My insurance (which covers me for rebuild cost) costs approximately 0.1% of the rebuild cost.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[RabidReindeer]

Well, so far, we've had two category ones and 7 tropical storms. In early August, NOAA predicted 13-19 named storms, including 6-9 hurricanes, 3-5 of them major.[1]

so, expect a big pileup in October and November. Maybe even a storm to ring in the new year

Or not.

The traditional formulas for statistical prediction of hurricanes have been patently knocked for a loop. So we can say that the statistics indicate that we've some catching up to do, but then again, where I live, we're double-plus overdue over multiple years.

So I won't "expect" a pileup or even a big storm. Though I will be prepared. Because frankly we don't have a clue anymore.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[tzog]

Your post is wrong and offensive, good job.

Regression to the mean is all nice and good, it may be applicable for the next couple decades lumped together, but it's not of any use to attempt to predict the outcome of a single season.

It is not just NOAA that predicted an above average season, everyone that I'm aware of that issues a seasonal forecast did. Those guys are scientist, not politician. Their funding doesn't depend on AGW, and if it did, they are aware that there is no consensus on the impact of global warming on the frequency of tropical cyclones. There is demand for seasonal forecasts, yes they are still low skill, but they are not no skill.

The big factors in the seasonal forecast this year were a warm Atlantic and an expected neutral phase El Niño which both of which positively correlate with tropical storm frequency. Despite neutral El Niño, there has been more shear which is unusual and has prevented storms from strengthening much. Dry air has also been a problem. The scientists producing the forecasts will learn from it.

The season is not over, October can be very busy. Yes, at this stage it would be shocking if the higher end of those prediction range were reached, but the lower, not so much.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[zippthorne]

A lot of florida is not at risk. The problem is that the insurance rates for the truly risky locations don't reflect the genuine cost of living there, so the wealthy people who can afford coastal property are effectively being subsidized - either they get insurance at too-low of a rate to match the risk, or they forego it and lean on the federal and state disaster relief programs.

Anyone deliberately living in the Category 1 flood zone should not get state or federal money when their houses are wrecked, regardless of whether they have been built sturdily or not. Cat 1 storms happen all over florida almost every year.

The price of insurance should be allowed to rise and fall to reflect the actual risk and cost of each location, sending pricing signals to people who would build in risky areas. Otherwise, you don't really have insurance. You have a subsidy of people living in risky areas paid for by people who choose more sensible locations. The price of insurance in the sensible locations should basically be so cheap that no one would bother not getting it....

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[zippthorne]

Depends on where you live. It shouldn't be a straight multiple of the rebuild cost.

It should be something more like:

  {rebuild and cleanup cost} * {probability of destruction over insured interval} + sum { {repair and cleanup cost}_i * {probability of damage over insured interval}_i} + {administrative costs and profit for insurer}

Which obviously depends strongly on both the construction of the building and the environmental conditions of its location.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Regression to the mean is all nice and good, it may be applicable for the next couple decades lumped together, but it's not of any use to attempt to predict the outcome of a single season.

That was, of course, my point. They are overestimating other effects, and treating it in such a way as to garner headlines, like the proverbial "the end is nigh!" types, or psychics making failfull yearly predictions that people rarely check up on the next year

I could be wrong about any given year's prediction vs. theirs, of course. It's all statistics. But we are seeing another example where simple, natural, unpredictable cycles are far more important. They still need to do work, but we also need to track the accuracy of predictions. The year after Katrina was predicted to be another terrible year, but was very light.

This does not support their point. It supports mine. Hence we have statistical evidence simple chaos theory is far more accurate than (whatever it is they're doing.)

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Remember I am not predicting hurricane cycles. I am making a meta-prediction, that their predictions, for reasons listed, are not reliable.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[PopeRatzo]

New York is visible financially (tho it's slowly being routed around due to cost issues).

I think the concentration of the financial industry in New York is actually increasing, due, paradoxically, to technology.

In the 20th century, of the 64 major hurricanes to hit the US, 51 hit in september and august.

I understand that. My comment was addressing the point that in an important way, there's a good reason that hurricanes that hit New York have a greater impact on America than those that hit lower on the coast or even the Gulf.

Re:Hurricane season is just about over.

[Maxo-Texas]

The damage to Florida alone from just Hurricane Andrew was catastrophic and slightly larger than Hurricane Sandy. And that was with an atypically small wind field.

The damage to Louisiana alone was *triple* that to New York ($75 billion vs $25 billion) and just about killed the city which is a major jazz hub and a major cultural center in the country.

I know you think New York is more important... and it used to be.... but there are many cultural, financial, educational, and large population centers around the country these days.

The state is about as important as several other similar size states spread around the country. And it's losing political power. Two representatives after the last census. Likely more after the next census. And the entire northeast area is a sea of lost seats (most other losing states only lost 1 representative however) while states like Florida and Texas are gaining (6 representatives just for those two states alone).

If you want to claim Blizzards or Nor'easters, cool.

Of course, if a storm with a 20-25' storm surge hits New York -- okay, then I'll agree. Because then the damage really would be catastrophic. Since only 10' of storm surge would flood lower Manhattan, Jersey City, and Hoboken (per the army corp of engineers), imagine 15 more feet of water plus up to 10' of surf on top of that.

That level of flooding would basically put everything up to highway 27 under water. Half of Jersey City would be under water.

Highways 78, 95, 278, and 280 would be underwater and probably destroyed in the Jersey city area.

I'm not sure if the area would be inhabitable if a major storm ever hits.

Five storms with 20' surge have hit the southern region of the country since 1989. Six if you want to go back to 1969.

How many emergencies in the past 12 years?

[NetNinja]

How many emergenices has lower Manhattan had in the past 12 years? Stupid is, is stupid does. MOVE!

Re:How many emergencies in the past 12 years?

[bigredradio]

First, calculate the chances of a disaster vs. where you can actually find customers and IT talent. There are not too many highly trained systems administrators in rural New Mexico. Also, can you get enough customers to pay the bills for your multi-million dollar co-location facility? Seems to me the location is worth the risk. If you are well prepared, you can mitigate the damages. It is more of a risk to have a crappy business location.

Re:How many emergencies in the past 12 years?

[mythosaz]

While rural New Mexico might be extreme, there's a reason that places like Phoenix AZ are filled with new data centers and skilled IT staff. Need a disaster recovery site? Put it here, or in Nevada. Flood? Hurricane? Earthquake? Tornados? You must be kidding.

Sure, it's not the tech density of San Jose, but it's kitten-safe from a disaster standpoint.

Re:How many emergencies in the past 12 years?

[khallow]

They still have flooding and water shortage issues. But flooding is something you can get mostly right by proper site selection (you still have to worry that there are dependencies outside your control such as the power company putting your substation in a flood-prone area).

Water shortages aren't usually considered a data center problem, but if you're doing something like using water-based cooling towers to remove heat, that can impact your business.

But having said that, these are issues that California has as well and at least to the same extent. So it might not be kitten safe, but it probably is safer than California.

Re:How many emergencies in the past 12 years?

[techno-vampire]

Flood? Hurricane? Earthquake? Tornados? You must be kidding.

Yes, earthquakes. No matter where you go, it's earthquake country, at least on a long enough time scale. Remember, the Northridge Earthquake of 1994 was on a previously unknown fault, so the fact that there's no record of earthquakes in the area doesn't mean as much as you'd like it to.

Re:How many emergencies in the past 12 years?

[R3d M3rcury]

Flood? [...] Tornados?

Yes. and Yes.

Re:How many emergencies in the past 12 years?

[sjames]

Just how many SAs do you need onsite? These days, even commodity servers have a BMC built in so they can be managed from anywhere. You do need a few local to handle lost connectivity to the management network and such, but you can probably get half from anywhere else in the U.S.

I find it really funny how many datacenters pay a huge premium on space in order to be in an 'it' location when the whole premise of the net is communication over a distance. Really what's needed is somewhere with stable infrastructure, low costs and within the same legal boundaries as your customers (in many cases).

Re:How many emergencies in the past 12 years?

[sjames]

When is the last time you heard of an earthquake in Az? Now compare to Ca.

Yes, in theory they could have one, but it is extremely unlikely. If they did, it would be strange enough that geologists would still be talking about it centuries from now.

WTF?

[scheme]

Hurricane season has been going on for a few months now. Why the hell would a data center or organization review their hurricane/storm related disaster checklists now instead of, oh, you know, before hurricane season? Any organization complacent and negligent enough to wait till the end of the hurricane season to review/correct their checklists probably isn't going to actually care about the checklist anyway.

Re:WTF?

[bagboy]

It's a slow news day on Slashdot...

Re:WTF?

[ColdWetDog]

Candles taste better when they're fresh.

Oh cool

[the eric conspiracy]

I was looking for a reason to lay in a supply of scotch. I already have the generator and transfer switch.

Arberg here we come!

slowest season in modern times

[peter303]

Never modern have there been so few hurricanes by Oct 1 as there were in 2013. Meteorologist blame a "cooler" ocean. We still have another couple months to the season. nd bad ones have occurred late like Sandy.

Re:slowest season in modern times

[Anonymous Coward]

It takes a few days for a hurricane to develop. We don't even have any tropical depressions building up at the moment.

So no, we won't have any hurricanes in the next four days.

Re:slowest season in modern times

[i.r.id10t]

Thing is, currents changed with the big earthquakes that have happened in the past few years. If it was enough of a change to affect migration patterns (it has), it was also probably enough of a change to alter the predictable long term weather models. Anyone know if the modeling software has been updated with the new data?

Re:slowest season in modern times

[reboot246]

That's exactly the point. You can see hurricanes coming for DAYS! They don't sneak up on you, for Pete's sake. Anybody not prepared is too stupid to live.

Oh, and all you people in hurricane country - keep your damned plywood to use again; don't throw it away just to have to buy more next season. You've driven up the plywood prices so damned high I can't afford to buy it.

Location, Location, Location

[bobcat7677]

We have our servers in a data centers in inland Oregon/Washington. There has never been a hurricane or typhoon within a thousand miles, seismic events are rare, the area is used to large amounts of rain so flooding has minimal effect, the weather is temperate so there is rarely extremes in heat or cold and Tsunamis would have to get past the coast range mountains to be an issue. Basically, nothing ever happens there. I would recommend anyone with important data at least have a DR location in a low risk geographical area.

Re:Location, Location, Location

[edibobb]

Maybe, but according to a web page the Internet (the finding the link is left as an exercise to the reader), Mount Rainier, Adams, and Hood are past due and will erupt any day now.

Re:Location, Location, Location

[bobcat7677]

Sorry, forgot to mention volcanoes. Mount St. Helens could erupt again too. But the servers are located outside the lava and mud flow paths for all of these (there are maps widely available that show these things). Even a major eruption would be unlikely to pose a physical threat to the servers and damage to electrical or internet infrastructure would be temporary and easily routed around at worst. Probably the most likely thing might be ash from an eruption potentially clogging cooling systems...but that is easily mitigated by making sure the air handling systems in your data center have pre-filters installed.

Re:Location, Location, Location

[notonthegrid]

It seems everyone has their own notion of 'low risk geographical area'. Mine
is Utah.

Re:Location, Location, Location

[QuantumRiff]

hate to tell you, but the AWS servers In Oregon are right near a very, very large river, (The columbia I think is second to only the mississippi) Right near several volcanoes, In an area that commonly gets lots of freezing rain and high winds. Its also a few miles from a major chemical weapons depot. (I guess the servers wouldn't care, but nobody would go onsite to replace failed equipment) and not very far from Hanford, where there is tons of nuclear waste.

Dear Sir

[Anonymous Coward]

I am enjoying your website. I would like to buy your wormhole technology. Please contact me.

Re-Inventing The Wheel

[VortexCortex]

Look, we don't have to re-invent the wheel. A hurricane preparedness kit is EXACTLY the same as Zombie Survival Kit minus the shotguns.

Re:Re-Inventing The Wheel

[slew]

Look, we don't have to re-invent the wheel. A hurricane preparedness kit is EXACTLY the same as Zombie Survival Kit minus the shotguns.

Depending on what state you live in, a hurricane preparedness kit would necessarily include a shotgun (of course that means an extra shotgun in those states).

Re:Re-Inventing The Wheel

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, if you want to protect your business from potential looting after the storm, you still need the shotguns.

Re:Re-Inventing The Wheel

[khallow]

What are wooden stakes supposed to do to zombies? I have yet to see a zombie movie where wooden stakes were more effective than wooden baseball bats. Maybe his zombies were some sort of proto-vampire?

Re:Re-Inventing The Wheel

[ebno-10db]

Nonsense. If your business is washed away by a storm surge you won't need to worry about looting.

Re:Re-Inventing The Wheel

[Daniel Dvorkin]

The werewolves are going to rip that guy apart.

Re:Re-Inventing The Wheel

[i.r.id10t]

My hurricane check list includes checking the ammo supply level... I live across the road from just over 1000 acres of forest, has the potential to be a grocery store....

If I lived more urban, the check list would still include an ammo check, for "social issues" that may arise.

Re:Re-Inventing The Wheel

[NJRoadfan]

Look, we don't have to re-invent the wheel. A hurricane preparedness kit is EXACTLY the same as Zombie Survival Kit minus the shotguns.

You clearly haven't waited in line for fuel in New Jersey before.....

Re:a bucket brigade of FUEL?!

[Shoten]

>> which kept its Manhattan datacenter running during the storm by creating a makeshift bucket brigade to carry fuel to the building's 17th floor

No fire code violations there, right? I'd love to be an attorney near this one. "So, you burned down the building trying to keep a couple of servers running, when you could have just co-located your equipment in a smarter place (like anyone who knows what they're doing would have done)."

When you're doing things like HFT, colocation in a different geographical area is a non-option. They're eking out every microsecond they can, even going so far as to use microwave for communications when possible instead of fiber simply for the reduced latency. Putting the servers way the hell out somewhere away from Wall Street is not helpful.

Surely you don't think that these companies have large datacenter operations in Manhattan just for the cheap real estate?

Advice?

[Netdoctor]

I'm not sure I want to take the advice from a guy who's emergency plans ended up with him using a bucket brigade to keep his DC open...

No, sorry. Being clever in the midst of a disaster does not make you good at emergency IT planning.

I'll second that...

[p.rican]

With all of the looting that went on by my house, you'd better keep the shotguns. There are some real opportunistic bastards out there with no conscience. Had loads of people driving through the neighborhood to see how bad we (East Rockaway) got hit. Problem was that you couldn't tell them apart from the savages that were looking for where they were going to "visit" later on that night. Generators stolen, aluminum siding, anything resembling a fuel can, just to name a few.

We as a society are doomed if we get hit with a disaster worse than Sandy.

Re:I'll second that...

[CrimsonAvenger]

We as a society are doomed if we get hit with a disaster worse than Sandy.

Umm, many of us like to think Katrina was just a bit worse than Sandy....

Re:I'll second that...

[p.rican]

Understood. It's all relative. I could have quantified my last statement better.

Sandy Wasn't a Hurricane

[sexconker]

Sandy was a tropical storm. Not a hurricane. No, there wasn't anything "super" about it.

Re:Sandy Wasn't a Hurricane

[sl149q]

Why the mod down. Sandy was a tropical storm (as measured by wind speed) when it hit New York.

The super is due to the amount of damages which is due to the amount of expensive infrastructure that was built in areas that were vulnerable to that type of storm.

Re:Sandy Wasn't a Hurricane

[Attila Dimedici]

Actually, Sandy covered an enormous amount of territory for a tropical storm/hurricane (something close to twice the area of the next largest major storm to make landfall in the U.S.), which is what made it a "super-storm". The fact that it hit New York only compounded that.

Re:Sandy Wasn't a Hurricane

[ebno-10db]

Good point. Tropical storm vs. hurricane, or hurricane category, is based only on wind speed. That gives a fair idea of the wind damage caused, but in many cases, and certainly Sandy, most of the damage is caused by the storm surge. That's more a function of the total energy of the storm, which for Sandy was the second highest on record, due to the large area it covered.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/sandy-packed-more-total-energy-than-katrina-at-landfall/2012/11/02/baa4e3c4-24f4-11e2-ac85-e669876c6a24_blog.html

Re:Sandy Wasn't a Hurricane

[beanpoppa]

Actually, Sandy was technically not tropical, and therefore not a hurricane or a tropical storm when it made landfall. It was "Post-tropical cyclone Sandy". The "Superstorm" designation was more catchy, but also attributed to the fact that Sandy had merged with another low pressure system (which is what caused it to make the very unusual sharp turn West).

Better solutions that actually work

[WillAffleckUW]

1. Require all new housing within 10 miles of a coast to be built either on stilts or with a ground floor only used for garage, mud room, and guest room.

2. Remove all insurance subsidies for housing withing 10 miles of a coast. All of them. No exemptions.

3. Raise power systems 10 feet up, to allow for storm surge flooding.

4. Redraft flood drainage and screening to anticipate storm surges 10 feet in elevation in all locations. Yes, this means almost all of Florida.

5. Mandate emergency power systems for apartment and all buildings taller than 3 stories have solar panels, either passive or PV electric, for at least enough energy to keep minimal power usage, if within 10 miles of a coast. Even when stormy, these work, usually at 70-80 percent of sunny periods, and allow for service interruptions that can take months during anticipated 100 year storms, that will occur (not might, will) every 2-3 years.

Climate change is here, boys and girls. Sticking your heads in the sand does nothing.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[ebno-10db]

Require all new housing within 10 miles of a coast to be built either on stilts or with a ground floor only used for garage, mud room, and guest room.

That makes sense. I live 1 mile from the coast. Of course I also live 200 feet above sea level. What sort of storm surge should I worry about?

Remove all insurance subsidies for housing withing 10 miles of a coast. All of them. No exemptions.

But keep them for places subject to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, forest fires, river flooding and flash floods?

Raise power systems 10 feet up, to allow for storm surge flooding.

You do realize that most of the power losses from Sandy were due to the winds breaking above ground power lines, right?

Redraft flood drainage and screening to anticipate storm surges 10 feet in elevation in all locations.

That sounds useful - Sandy had a 13 foot storm surge.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[sl149q]

10 miles is silly. First in many areas its not enough. Around New Orleans and probably in Florida lots of places farther inland still in danger.

On the other hand I live less than a kilometer from the Pacific Ocean. But at 100m above sea level would be pretty safe. More worried about things higher up coming down than anything coming up.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[ColdWetDog]

That sounds useful - Sandy had a 13 foot storm surge.

When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a data center on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest data center in all New York.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[Attila Dimedici]

Your basic idea is sound, but to be possible it needs to be less drastic. The first step is that any new buildings do not get subsidies for flood insurance (and it does not matter how far it is from the coast). Part of that is that if you re-purpose a building, the flood insurance subsidy is the lesser of what would be available for the original purpose or the new purpose. That goes into effect immediately. After a short length of time(2-5 years), any residential building that is not the primary residence of the owner loses the flood insurance subsidy (although someone who was renting the place would be eligible for flood insurance subsidies if those exist as part of renter's insurance). Five years after that, we could re-examine the issue and decide if there is still a problem.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[Anonymous Coward]

Electrical power is not something needed for in an emergency. Electricity does not support life, you can't eat or drink it either. You can argue that it can keep you warm but a few 1800 watt heaters running on it is nothing great. Some sleeping bags will keep your warm too. All of these idiots who think that having a generator solves 90% of their emergency problems are sitting ducks. Take the money you would spend on a generator and fuel to keep it going (most burn about a gallon an hour), and buy some extra canned goods, a few cases of water or as much as you can, sleeping bags, batteries, flashlights, some $5 dollar powered speakers and a cheap MP3/FM player. Keep an extra propane tank in standby for your backyard grill or buy a camping stove and some small cans of propane, some paper plates and utensils and some baby wipes. All of that stuff mentioned costs less than a generator, will fit in a big container, and will keep a family ready for an emergency for days/weeks WITHOUT having to venture out and try to find gas for your generator.

Optional..
  Step it up a notch and possible buy a kerosene heater and 10 gallons of kerosene (lasts for years in storage, and a 10K btu unit will heat a portion of your house to over 60F when it's 0 outside and only burn about 1.5 gallons in 12 hours), some type of room light with D batteries, possibly use your car battery and a power inverter, duct tape, taps, first aid kit blah blah. Those are emergency supplies, a generator is not.
I've heard the arguments, but I have $2000 of prime steaks in my freezer! I need to keep it cold. Well, that's your fault. Raw prime beef is what you will be eating when you can't get gas for your generator.

All of that stuff, even the optional stuff included STILL costs less than a decent generator. Everything I mentioned is not going to waste either just waiting for a storm, you can drink and eat the food and water and replace it on your next trip to the store. Having an extra propane tank is very convenient when you run out in the middle of your 4th of July cookout too.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[iggymanz]

whether climate change is here or not, there is no evidence whatsoever of anything unusual about frequency or strength of hurricanes. you might be interested to know the worst hurricane ever to hit the USA was over 200 years ago.

calm down, stop believing hype

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[nicoleb_x]

Actually, in the Ft. Lauderdale/Palm Beach area the Atlantic is rather deep and not going to produce a big storm surge. You need shallow water for the water to pile up. They have shallow water in most places in the Gulf but not all of Florida is susceptible to major storm surge issues.

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/surge/miami_mom5h.png

Re: Better solutions that actually work

[NJRoadfan]

Don't know why this was modded down, but the lack of heat was a serious concern after Sandy hit. We were lucky to have low tech gravity steam heat and a boiler run by a millivolt thermopile gas valve. The system requires no external electricity and works exactly like a gas hot water heater so we had heat even though the power was out for nearly two weeks. Sadly its no longer an option on modern steam boilers thanks to the safety and efficiency nuts banning pilot lights and requiring two stage gas valves... that requires an electrical source to operate.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[CrimsonAvenger]

1. Require all new housing within 10 miles of a coast to be built either on stilts or with a ground floor only used for garage, mud room, and guest room.

Note that New Orleans is >10 miles from any coast.

Note also that it is below sea level.

Defining a solution to a problem in terms of "miles from the coast" shows enough ignorance of the subject that anything you suggest can safely be disregarded....

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[WillAffleckUW]

Depends on the geographical environment you live in - in some places surges can go up to 100 feet due to geographical restrictions, in others it peters out fairly quickly.

I did not recommend insurance subsidies for earthquakes, tordanoes, forest fires, flooding and flash floods within 10 miles of the ocean shore.

Power losses would not have been critical if buildings had their own solar panels and passive solar - part of the problem is the load factor to bring power back, actually.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[WillAffleckUW]

100 meters up less than a kilometer, you're usually at risk from slides. Erosion from waves and storm surges can trigger those.

Depends on the nature of the soils you're on, and landscaping.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[WillAffleckUW]

No. It needs to be more drastic.

First, remove all subsidies. Second, change all zoning codes FOR BUILDING NEW building or revising current buildings.

Never wait. Always do.

Re: Better solutions that actually work

[WillAffleckUW]

Both active and passive solar help with heat. Passive with providing hot water and heat, tends to go with better insulation, active solar panels to provide enough power that even gas furnaces can operate.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[WillAffleckUW]

New Orleans is a river delta we no longer allow to be periodically flooded. As a result, it sinks.

I can't solve all your problems.

Re:Better solutions that actually work

[Attila Dimedici]

Good luck getting that passed. I am pretty sure that it would be possible to get my idea passed. I am overwhelmingly confident that it would be impossible to get yours passed. In addition, it is almost always a mistake to pass laws which make drastic changes to existing law because of unintended consequences.

Re:I'm with you man!

[PopeRatzo]

Are you mad? You're adorable when you get mad, you know that? Your forehead gets all scrunched up and you do that thing with your mouth and your eyes roll around in your head.

One important tip

[evilviper]

For your emergency survival kit, take a good long look at all the options for camping gear. If you aren't prepared for a month of camping, alone, way out in the wilderness, with just your emergency kit, you aren't prepared for a fire/flood/hurricane/earthquake. You'd be amazed at the dozens of small things you will need (or seriously want) but would never think of until you try a few days of camping.

* Hiking water filter or lots of purification tablets (1 gallon per person, per day)

* Multi-gallon water containers, and camp shower

* Tent or large tarp

* Air mattress & pump, or foam pad

* Heavy blankets or sleeping bag

* Heavy waterproof jacket, several changes of clothes, perhaps shoes, etc.

* Plenty of dehydrated food, and salt

* Lighter/matches, propane canisters and 1-burner stove, plus cooking pot/pan and utensils

* Prescription drugs, or just aspirin, antacids, etc.

* First aid kit with numerous bandages, antiseptic (iodine/alcohol), burn ointment, and sewing kit.

* Large knife/hatchet/saw

* Shovel, toilet paper, and soap.

* Toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant

* Solar AA/AAA battery and cell phone charger combo

* Spare LED flashlight

* AM/FM/shortwave radio, and perhaps CB/FRS/GMRS/Ham radios

* Compass and a map

* Probably a few others that slipped my mind.

And be sure most of the above is in fully submersible, water-tight containers, like freezer bags or food storage bins.

Re:One important tip

[magic maverick]

You've got some good things on your list. You also have some stupid things. Like deodorant. Who needs that? If your camping, you don't need it. If there is a break down in social order, you don't need it. If you don't have access to shops for a month, you don't need it (as no one else will have it either...).

Camp shower? I'm pretty sure where I come from they call those waterfalls. Or you could just go swimming in the lake. (Just avoid all those small microscopic bugz and shitz.)

Further, how are you going to carry all this stuff?

OK, maybe I misunderstood, and you are just going to hangout in your datacenter and pretend you're camping. In which case, you can just store all your shit. But wouldn't you rather hangout at home for a month and forget your datacenter?

Re:One important tip

[evilviper]

Like deodorant. Who needs that? If your camping, you don't need it. If there is a break down in social order, you don't need it.

You don't strictly need deodorant, just as you don't strictly need toilet paper, aspirin and antacid, but they're tiny items that'll last a long time. And you'll be feeling a bit miserable if you omit these tiny conveniences.

Camp shower? I'm pretty sure where I come from they call those waterfalls. Or you could just go swimming in the lake.

In an emergency, you don't have the luxury of finding the nearest waterway. Out here in the south west, "waterfalls" don't really exist, and the "lake" you want to go swim in (if there is even one within 100 miles of you) may be extremely dangerous, or massively polluted due to whatever the disaster. I know plenty of folks in New Orleans were surrounded by water, yet dying for a shower. Sounds like you're the one being quite biased and short-sighted here.

Also importantly, a camp shower serves a secondary purpose as a water carrier. A lightweight 5 gallon water bag is nice to have, and if it can also gravity feed your water filter, it'll be a very handy addition, even in a short trip where you don't need a shower. Alternatively, a large camelbak bag can also do double duty in place of a camp shower.

Further, how are you going to carry all this stuff?

That's not something people need a reminder of... They'll figure that out without my help. Whether they prefer backpacks, duffel bags, old suitcases, hobo bindles, or anything else, is not my concern. People can reasonably figure out how they'd prefer to carry their supplies around. And the correct answer for someone who is accustomed to hiking/backpacking, won't be right for someone who has several OHVs lying around.

But wouldn't you rather hangout at home for a month and forget your datacenter?

Your home may have collapsed, flooded, burned down, etc. Commercial buildings do tend to remain standing after far more stress. And don't forget, the IT first responders (reestablishing communications) are nearly as important as the recognized emergency services (police/fire/medical), and folks like power-line technicians. None of the above will have the luxury of just sitting at home (even if they avoided the disaster) and waiting for someone else to go out and restore civilization.

http://mayphatdiencu.vn/ and buy a new generator.

[quyennguyenduc]

That makes sense. Hurricane season has been going on for a few months now. Why the hell would a data center or organization review their hurricane/storm related disaster checklists now instead of, oh, you know, before hurricane season? when Hurricane come then electric may be cut. that why you need a generator . i think we should visit website: http://mayphatdiencu.vn/ and buy a new generator.

Re:a bucket brigade of FUEL?!

[BitZtream]

Putting Wall Street on Wall Street is the first example of STUPID in that equation, the rest follows quickly from there.

Every company I've ever worked with that has datacenter in manhattan JUST so they can say 'We have a datacenter in XXX' as a bragging right. (Note, never worked with financial traders)

Yes, SOME companies want the shortest length of transit to the markets, MOST of those data centers are marketing fluff for ignorant companies who think showing how wasteful you can be with money is impressive.

Huricaines year off

[Lost Penguin]

2013 is the year hurricanes seem to be taking a vacation. /Florida!

Re:a bucket brigade of FUEL?!

[RockDoctor]

When you're doing things like HFT, colocation in a different geographical area is a non-option. [Reason] Putting the servers way the hell out somewhere away from Wall Street is not helpful.

And it's also a false dichotomy. The dichotomy is not between

• - putting the server next to the trader's desktop, and
• - putting the server in disaster-proof New Madrid

It's between

• - putting the server and generator on the 17th floor, necessitating a bucket-brigade or a 17-floor capable fuel pump, and
• - putting the server on the 17th floor, a dedicated power line to the generator in the basement (or even, on a platform outdoors, 5m above ground level), and a fat fuel tank within a few 10s of metres of the generator.

There's this wonderful thing about electricity : it can be transmitted from place to place through lumps of copper. You may want to minimise the length of the lumps of copper, but that's a detailed design issue. I wouldn't be surprised to see buildings (multi-occupancy ones, even!) with a lobby at street level, a couple of floors (where the elevators physically cannot stop) housing the UPS / fuel tanks / generator sets above street level, then office space / data centres further upstairs.