"A chilling list" is what weather.com calls its list of the 5 cities that are most vulnerable to a "Hurricane Sandy-like" disaster.  Guess who is at the top of their list?  You guessed right...Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Bill Read, whose career includes 30 years at the National Weather Service and 4 years as director of the National Hurricane Center, predicts that our area is primed for major and serious coastal storm.  In developing his list he looked at factors such as population, infrastructure and time since a major disaster occurred.  Living in Hampton Roads we all know the congestion challenges of our highways, bridges and tunnels.  And the coastal nature of our community leaves many of us in flood zones which can be overwhelmed with a heavy rain.

In addition to weather forecasting, Mr. Read also is passionate about preparedness.  Short of a hurricane or major, widespread natural disaster, is your business prepared for an IT disaster that could halt your business infrastructure or communications?

While we all try to prepare for major disasters, keep in mind that having your IT infrastructure disabled--even for a short time--can be catastrophic to a business.  This includes both a loss of revenue as well as incurring overhead costs such as payroll expenses while the system is down or off line.