When a disaster occurs and you Disaster Recovery Plan and Business Continuity Plan are activated, many risks and exposures are faced both operational as well as systemic.

In talking with its clients after the recent earthquake in Japan , PCIC has compiled a list of lessons learned:

The success of the Disaster Recovery Plan is directly related to the quality of the plan put into place before hand . The training provided, testing that has occurred before the disaster occurs play key roles.

Power failures can disrupt telecommunications networks. Circuits will overload and land lines may take some time to restore.

Cell phones will not work if the batteries can’t be recharged or cell towers are out of order.

Travel and transportation will be severely restricted. Plan for road closures, police blockades, disabled vehicles, limited rental car availability and dwindling fuel supplies. If individuals leave the immediate area they may not be able or allowed to return.

Personnel issues are your primary concern .A Disaster Recovery Plan should take into account employees’ personal needs. If the disaster is wide spread employees will be concerned about their families and can not focus on the recovery process.

Assume that the right people will not all be in place in time to declare the a disaster has occurred nor to begin the recovery process. Everyone will be under extreme stress and tempers will be short . Leadership is what will make the recovery successful.

Assume no electronic copy of the plan will be available for some time so it is paramount to  have an updated paper copy that can be used immediately.

Critical facilities should not be located in close proximity of each other. If the primary recovery facility, media, or network are in the same general area they will be affected as well.

Resources should be deployed in safe areas; switching equipment, generators and fuel tanks should be located above flood levels. In addition the assumption should be made that recovery at the impacted site could take several days if not weeks or months.

Data management challenges will arise and backup systems should not require physical connectivity to your infrastructure. When the recovery process begins assume that nothing is working hardware, software, media, and license keys.

Insurance coverage is often inadequate ;understand your coverage before disaster strikes, and document activities for adjusters.

Cash is king document how you spent it. After the fact the proof of expenditures will be needed for reimbursement from the business and with proper documentation from the insurance company.

Hardware may be damaged so develop and test a plan for replacing equipment and for disposing of unusable devices. With technology it often is less expensive to replace equipment than to repair. Create a location where damaged equipment is placed and log the reason it is there so that after the fact decisions can be made on what to do with the equipment.