Bad Weather Blues – PJB: Tales of a Tech Shark

The recent typhoon that hit the Philippines last September 29th, dubbed Typhoon “Milenyo”, was a learning experience. It was, to recent memory, one of the worst natural disasters that I have experienced, although it still couldn’t compare to my 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption experience.

The weather started out pleasantly on the day the typhoon was supposed to hit the metropolis, and so we thought that it was just one of those weather forecast false alarms. Little did we know that everything would change drastically in such a short span of time. I was at the office when the typhoon started to show some oomph. Management had to take a call and eventually decided to suspend work operations but unfortunately, some of us found out that it would be better to stay indoors instead of taking a chance traveling back home. The rain and wind had so much nastiness in it that people wouldn’t dare go outdoors. Trees, poles, signboards, and what-have-you fell. The metropolis never knew what hit it. People were unprepared. It was a disaster alright.

An hour’s worth of fury brought in more than a week’s worth of suffering. At work, our building had no power and we had to rely on generators to power us up. Business email and internet connectivity were disrupted. And in our line of business, uptime for these services was critical.

At home, our block had no electricity and water for a week. Some of our neighbors had power after a couple of days and it turned out that we were tapped into a different power grid! Bummer.

I just couldn’t stand the sight of CJ crying at night because he couldn’t sleep. And so we had to check in and out of hotels just to get a decent night’s rest. Sigh. I’m glad it’s all over. This ought to be a wake-up call for everyone.

For businesses, this is where a good Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan will prove invaluable. And at work, this is what I have to help draft up next.