In Case of Emergency

Let's talk about how reliant we are on computers.

Without them you wouldn't be reading this.

Without them, companies shut down. In Boston, some areas are flooded today... rivers have swollen with rain and runoff.  Sewer lines are backed up.  The grocery store parking lot that slopes down to the entrance of the store has become a lake.  Office buildings positioned at the bottom of a hill are knee deep in water.  Roads are closed from flooding.  You get the idea. 

So here's the quandary: if you can't get in to the office, or if you can't remote access your server, or if the grocery stores close down, or if your home floods, how will you react?

It certainly makes me rethink my own emergency preparedness plan.  Have I checked the basement today to see if the sump pump works?  What would I do if my roof started leaking? Do I have critical documents copied and saved in a flood-proof location? Could I find the name of my insurance agent if I needed to call about damage? It makes me glad I have food storage, but there's a long way to go before I'm ready to call myself "prepared" for an emergency like this one.