As Hugh just noted about the building on a Hill or out of a Flood zone, Last
night Houston had a show that showed what a category 5 would do to the area
now.

With the sinking of Houston to date, a Cat 5 could push up to a 20-25 foot
tidal surge up to I-10 in Harris County because of the ship channel and
bayous. Then you have the swamping of all the other counties.  The sad fact
is that I drove through a neighborhood last night that was building 1 to 1.5
million dollar homes --under the model they are totally covered.  They need
more than a snorkel.  And more than Harris county went under water, think of
Galveston, Liberty, etc.

The computer models were quite unsettling.  All they had every shown before
were Cat 3.  Apparently many counties have plans only up to Cat 3.  With the
new models even my own home would be a victim of tidal surge because of the
rain that would already be there.  I am not in a flood zone and am on a
little hill.

I can say under the new model there are many storage facilities that I am
aware of that would be in trouble.  This disaster should be a wake up call
and a sales opportunity for vital records programs--that may have been
floundering.  Electronic vital records can be on mirrored sites across
country and the company may not skip a beat in some areas. Maybe it is time
to consider digitizing and getting rid of unwanted paper.

Also role playing and practicing what to do in the event of the disaster is
very important.  I think that is key to the first 48 hours of success.  What
is vital and do it.

Oh well, after seeing the new Houston model, I am going to reassess my home
records also.  The hurricane season is still active.  I am not bayside, I am
almost at I-10.  But as luck goes, the south has not been that lucky with
storms lately.

So for all records and information managers in our area, it is a great time
to reassess and either pat yourself on the back or work to improve your
programs.

Carolyn Trim
Houston

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