Hurricane and tornado season is a just days away and with the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, it is already the worst and most dangerous tornado season we’ve experienced in decades. Whether you’re a home owner, apartment dweller, a business owner or an IT director, there are ways you can prepare your home and business and protect your important data during a storm. 

24 Hour Data offers storm preparedness tips to protect your data, from mission critical business files to family photos, movies or music collections on a server, during a weather emergency this season. 

Unplug Electronic Devices During a Storm

During any storm, unplug any unnecessary electronics to avoid damage that could be caused by a power surge.  A blown transformer can cause a power surge prior to loss of electricity, which can damage electronics and cause data loss. 

Use a Surge Protector for Electronics

We understand that you may want to keep your TV or Internet-connected devices on during a storm to stay on top of the latest news. Run laptops or tablets on battery power only, and make sure your TV is plugged in to a surge protector, which can prevent damage. Even if your TV is on, unplug your home media server to protect expensive music and movie collections saved to hard disk. 

Back Up All Devices at the First Sign of a Storm or Tornado

Upon hearing reports of a storm or tornado in your area, back up all electronics to a portable hard disk drive or to the cloud using an Internet-based backup solution. Keep passwords to retrieve your data in a safe place, where they won’t be lost or damaged during a flood, hurricane or tornado. Store your portable hard disk drive at a friend’s house or somewhere else that it will be protected from damage. If you have to evacuate, hard drive backups and passwords should definitely be taken with you. Today’s portable hard drives are designed to travel safely when handled with common sense and care. 

Be Ready to a Call a Data Recovery Service If Necessary

If you are a business owner or IT director, retrieving your lost data will be one of the earliest steps in your business recovery efforts. As soon as server equipment is replaced, you’ll want to get back to business as usual, because every minute down equals lost money. 

If your hard disk drive, RAID drives or virtual servers are damaged in a hurricane or tornado, resulting in lost data, call 24 Hour Data right away so we can begin the data recovery process and have your data back as soon as you are ready to re-open your business.