T 1.13 Storm

The effects of a storm or hurricane to the outdoor equipment and facilities indirectly needed to operate a computer centre are often underestimated. Outdoor equipment and facilities may be damaged or ripped off their foundations in a storm. Objects ripped off their foundations and thrown about in a storm may cause even further subsequent damage. The functionality of technical components may also become severely impaired.

Examples:

• Coolant pipes made of flexible, hard PVC piping were installed on the roof of a computer centre for the air conditioning system but were only weighted down or fastened to the rooftop at a few points. They were taken by the hurricane and swept away from the building's roof. In the process, the connections were separated. Coolant escaped, and the system needed to be shut down for several hours. No repairs could be made for the duration of the storm due to the risk of being swept away from the roof. The server park was down for almost 12 hours. It supplied approximately 12,000 users.

• In another case, a slatted wall used to house a heat exchanger on the roof of the data processing computer centre of a manufacturing plant collapsed. The sharp edges of the aluminium panels cut through the electrical cables of the heat exchanger. The result was a short-circuit that sparked and started a fire under the roof covering, which had been loosened by the storm. The lining that had been torn off acted as a wind break, but let enough air through to start a fire. The insulation between the corrugated sheet metal and the waterproof sheeting then caught fire. It was only by a fortunate coincidence that the building was not completely destroyed.