Organizations in Miami face threats from inclement weather year-round. Lightning is one of the most destructive forces of nature and it adversely affects electronic equipment. If that’s not enough, we also have a hurricane season that never fails to put business owners and managers on edge. You can mitigate weather related outages by moving your servers to a data center or by moving your applications to the cloud, but you still need to protect your on-premise equipment.
When a hurricane is imminent, contact us (or your IT department). Under our guidance, turn off the main battery backup (UPS) in the IT closet after we confirm that the server(s) have been turned off, then cover the equipment with a tarp to keep it dry in case of leaks caused by roof damage. Never cover equipment unless it is unplugged, otherwise it can overheat if it’s accidentally turned back on when the power returns.
Ask your employees to shut down their PCs, printers, monitors and battery backups and unplug them all from the wall outlet. Then cover them with a plastic garbage bag to prevent water damage.
If they are on the ground, lift them at least 6″ to prevent flood damage. Printers, usually located on top of desks, should be moved under the desk in order to prevent damage caused by chunks of ceiling falling on top of them. Large printer/copiers should be unplugged and covered, and if applicable, moved away from windows. After the equipment is all off, shut off the circuit breakers.
After the storm, inspect the premise carefully for signs of water and moisture before turning the circuit breakers back on. If you suspect that any water has entered any electronic equipment, call us for an on-site inspection before you plug the equipment back in. Never plug in or turn on any equipment that you suspect has water or moisture inside.