Prepare Now: A Hurricane’s Damage can be Far-Reaching

Each year from roughly August through November, the conditions are just right. Warm waters near the equator in the Atlantic Ocean create moist air which rises upward, creating low pressure below. This cycling becomes an engine of air flows and energetic atmospheric conditions which create a hurricane, nature’s largest storm.

​First and foremost: Play it safe

Being prepared for the worst is prudent advice for anyone in or near hurricane country. So, consider the basics first. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what you’ll need when preparing for hurricane season. Evacuate means just that, so have a packing list prepared and secure what you leave behind.
Visit Ready.gov/Hurricanes

​Three things to understand about hurricanes:
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1. An unpredictable threat
   Some hurricanes just aren’t visible. It takes advanced technology to recognize them. Plus, when over water they can be difficult to track. Hurricanes can be a small as 30-40 miles across, but most average 300 miles in width yet massive storms can reach 600 miles in diameter.
2. The eyes tell a story
   A ragged, asymmetrical eye shows a storm struggling to strengthen. A smooth, round eye reveals a stable and strong storm. A tiny eye—sometimes called a pinhole or pinpoint eye—can mean an intense storm.
3. It’s more than wind
   The push of seawater brought inland by the storm’s force is the storm surge, and it can cause massive destruction. Like a high-powered flood, the storm surge is fast and can amass up to 20 feet of water. Storm surges have been known to travel several miles inland. Just for reference, a cubic foot of seawater (3 feet x 3 feet) weighs 1728 pounds.

​Why more of us are affected by hurricanes

Electrical disruptions and outages can reach for hundreds of miles. The storms and rough weather spun off from a hurricane can deliver brown-outs, blackouts, and surges to electrical systems miles and miles away from the center of the storm.

Trending demographics will show you there’s been notable population growth in the Southern and Southeastern portions of the U.S. Sure, baby-boomers are retiring and often headed to warmer climates. But good jobs are also pulling population groups to these areas.
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According to the United States Census Bureau, the top five fastest-growing populations are all within reach of typical hurricane paths, and outages could have a halo-effect, extending the damage for miles beyond these urban centers:

​Remote work is growing, and so are power needs

The terms: working from home, telecommuting, or working remotely are all becoming more commonplace. With numbers more than doubling since 2005, 4.7 million employees (3.4% of the workforce) now work from home at least half the time. That currently puts roughly 30% of remote workers within reach of hurricanes.
Why does this matter? With most companies, at-home employees are often responsible for the well-being of their equipment or the property of the company. It’s worth having the right backup and surge protection equipment to provide peace of mind for your remote workspace.

​Three simple ways to safeguard your electrical system

1.  Surge protectors are the first line of defense against the unpredictable forces of severe weather.

• ​​​​Spikes or surges in electric current can overload, damage or even destroy many of our digital devices, computers and appliances. A surge protector acts as a deterrent to redirect excess voltage away from devices plugged in to it.
• From strips to wall mounted units to rack devices, Our power vendor line has a wide selection of surge protection devices available to help your home or business be prepared. Our surge protectors feature built-in automatic shutdown, lifetime warranties, and connected equipment guarantees – which cover computer and related device replacement costs. Explore our Surge Protectors to find a surge protector which meets your needs.

2.  When things go dark, a UPS provides you critical time to react.

• An uninterruptible power supply (UPS), is also known as a battery backup. This provides backup power when your regular (utility) power source fails or voltage drops to an unacceptable level. A UPS allows for the safe, orderly shutdown of a computer and connected equipment.  This can mean less chance of data loss and/or equipment damage.
• Back up your home or office computer and devices with a UPS that is appropriately sized for your needs. To analyze your network infrastructure UPS needs now, try the power assessment tool. This examines your server rack equipment power requirements to help analyze your exact technical UPS needs and power protection criteria.

3.  Riding out the storm?  Be smart about using a backup generator.

• Using a backup generator to maintain power for your home or business?  It’s smart to use UPS backup battery unit to cover your power needs until your generator is functioning.  Today’s equipment and computers require a continuous supply of quality power.  So, make sure a sine wave power backup is in place during that intermittent time between a power outage and generator startup.​

Stay far ahead of every storm

Don’t think you need to be in the direct path of a hurricane to witness power damage.  Tornadoes, lightning, high winds, and heavy rains are often the residual destruction that can spin off hundreds of miles from the center of a hurricane.  Take smart precautions today, use advanced power protection technology to safeguard your digital life, and livelihood.  Contact us today!