Diary of Disaster: Riding Out Katrina in the Data Center: Interesting stories of how some companies dealt with disaster recovery.   Concludes with a few lessons:

• "PEOPLE FIRST. The first effort should be focused on locating your employees and ensuring their safety.
• DISTANCE MATTERS. Put your backup data center in a locale far enough away from your primary center to ensure continuity, but close enough to get employees there.
• PRIORITIZE YOUR BUSINESS. Focus on the information systems that matter most, such as customer support and manufacturing.
• EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. No matter how well documented your business Continuity plan, the disaster is likely to throw you an unexpected curveball. Account for the worst possible scenario."

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