Emma,

Just a couple of comments. You might want to review the lessons of the
1997 flood in the Red River Valley.
http://www.draves.com/gf/gflinks.htm

A downtown Grand Forks business that relocated their records from the
basement to the second floor of their office to protect them from
potential flood waters.  The were burned in the fire which would have
destroyed even the best constructed and protected vault.

When selecting an offsite storage location, consider the risk as well as
distance.   When only distance is considered, storing a vital record
copy 70 miles appears prudent.  Duplicate records stored in Grand Forks,
ND should be safe from a flood event in Fargo, ND.  However, a flood in
Fargo is most likely to cause a flood in Grand Forks.

As far as inexpensive storage for vital records, consider partnering
with another organization.  By swapping vital records, both
organizations can protect their records for little more than the cost of
transportation.

Bill Roach, CRM
Enterprise EDMS Coordinator
State of North Dakota
ITD/Records Management
701-328-3589

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