Caribbean: Ready for another earthquake?
As stories and images of devastation pour out of Haiti, bloggers elsewhere in the Caribbean wonder if the earthquake-prone region is ready for the next major tremor.
Haiti: Teens’ perspectives on the earthquake
Although the coverage of the aftermath of the 7.3 earthquake which has left Haiti’s capital partly devastated, has been massive, one group of Haitian bloggers has been overlooked - teenagers. Here is a look at what young people have to say about this catastrophe, which foreshadows a new era in their lives.
Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption (MTPOD) is an issue
The concept of Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption (MTPOD) is an issue with the introduction of British Standard 25999-2. When applied appropriately, MTPOD will improve management’s understanding of your disaster recovery business continuity program and clarifies your enterprise’s recovery priorities. BS 25999-2, Section 4 says that the goal of a business impact analysis is to “determine the impact of any disruption of the activities that support the organization’s key products and services.” A key aspect of determining the impact of a disruption is identifying what BS 25999 calls the “Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption,” or MTPOD. BS 25999 defines MTPOD as the “duration after which an organization’s viability will be irrevocably threatened if product and service delivery cannot be resumed.” MTPOD is the maximum amount of time that the organization’s key products or services can be unavailable or undeliverable before its stakeholders realize unacceptable consequences. The full application of this concept can mean rethinking how a business impact analysis is approached. While many DRP / BCP professionals start a business impact analysis by gathering data from individual departments, MTPOD forces them to first look at products and services. Disaster Recovery and Business continuity professionals should understand downtime tolerance, taking into account: Customer expectations Regulatory requirements Reputational issues Financial and operational impairment Strategic consequences. Based on management input, disaster recovery / business continuity professionals can propose preliminary Maximum Tolerable Periods of Disruption for key products or services within the scope of the business continuity program. Once MTPOD is established for key products and services, the traditional business impact analysis or service. From there, the business impact analysis can either validate or disagree with preliminary MTPOD conclusions. In addition, the business impact analysis does identify the department, function and process details that are needed to achieve the MTPOD. Perhaps most importantly, the disaster recovery / business continuity professional must understand the amount of time required to perform the process or activity in order to deliver the product or service to its key stakeholders (internal or external). This is referred to as cycle time. For example, in a manufacturing company, cycle time would be how long it takes to obtain the necessary stock, manufacture the product, and deliver it to the customer. With an understanding of MTPOD and cycle time, the business continuity professional can identify what is commonly accepted as the core output of the business impact analysis - the recovery time objective, or RTO. RTO is the point in time following a disruption when operations must resume (at a minimum level) in order to meet downtime tolerances.
Lack of disaster planning led to present crisis
Everyone came to the same conclusion: A lack of disaster planning was a key component to the extent of the damage and loss of life. Seventeen charity and civil society organizations met at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) to organize their efforts after a few days of spontaneous but much appreciated mobilized work to collect and distribute donations in the affected areas. This followed a warning issued by the Governorate cautioning individuals and groups against donating haphazardly and instead directed them to give their donations through registered charity organizations, which are supposed to coordinate their distribution work with the Jeddah Governorate to ensure that the donations reach those who need them. Discussions quickly revealed a lack of coordination among the charities and with the relevant government offices, namely the Civil Defense and the governorate. While several charities focused on the hardest hit areas, which needed every parcel of assistance it could get, other areas that were also hit hard were almost neglected. It turns out that Al-Sawaed, which has become a ghost town with only ruins, and all the Kilo areas and Mahameed were in bad shape. Poor neighborhoods in downtown Jeddah such as Ghulail and Karantina were also stricken with residents living in knee-high stinking sewage with barely the essentials to live by. Other areas hit hard include Um Alsalam, Bahra, Jamaa, Al-Musaid.
Haiti: Restoring Communications and Local Media Networks
Haiti’s communication infrastructure was seriously damaged after being devastated by a 7.0 earthquake on January 12. It can be very empowering for people in Haiti to be able to narrate their stories in their own words. With this is in mind, Feminist International Radio Endeavour (FIRE) and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters have launched projects to help restore local media projects.
Egypt: Engulfed by Floods!
Over the past few days, several Egyptian governorates and cities have been engulfed by a severe wave of flash floods and heavy rains. Bloggers react to the calamity.
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