Hurricane..

**usa2k** · 09-13-2008 09:58 AM

Stay safe!

. . . and you were so close to a full launch I would bet!

**burris** · 09-13-2008 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by usa2k

Stay safe!

. . . and you were so close to a full launch I would bet!

If there are any ramifications as a result of the storm, it's better that this happened before the full launch.

Maybe Tim's company is in a hospital or other public service grid and power will get priority restoration.

We've been lucky in South Florida, as we are in a hospital grid and haven't had too long a wait after each storm.

**NY Tel Guy** · 09-13-2008 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by burris

If there are any ramifications as a result of the storm, it's better that this happened before the full launch.

Maybe Tim's company is in a hospital or other public service grid and power will get priority restoration.

We've been lucky in South Florida, as we are in a hospital grid and haven't had too long a wait after each storm.

Same here - I am on the local hospital's grid so we always get power back first. Best way to buy a house.

**VOIPoTim** · 09-13-2008 04:55 PM

Fortunately, we had very minimal damage at the office. Just a few windows blown out and that's about it.

Basically the key now will be power restoration and getting all the public services back on like water, etc. They said it could take up to a month for all power to be restored because of the extend of damage.

**chpalmer** · 09-13-2008 05:10 PM

Watching the feeds here and I feel for those on the coast...

Been looking for your building on the news and have been re leaved to have not seen it...

**chpalmer** · 09-13-2008 05:25 PM

The Balinese Room is gone...

Yikes...

**VOIPoTim** · 09-13-2008 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by chpalmer

Watching the feeds here and I feel for those on the coast...

Been looking for your building on the news and have been re leaved to have not seen it...

Yeah for those watching we're in the NW part of town off Highway 290.

In the map of Houston Freeways, we're basically just NW of the biggest "loop" going around Houston.

The bulk of the hurricane stayed in the Eastern part.

**VOIPoTim** · 09-14-2008 12:49 AM

For anyone wondering, all pending orders were shipped out Saturday.

**usa2k** · 09-14-2008 04:43 AM

How did your restaurant fair? Or is it elsewhere?

**VOIPoTim** · 09-16-2008 06:38 AM

I'm flying back to Texas today (Dallas though) and wanted to post an update.

Current Situation

Like the majority of Houston, our office still has no power and no water. It's not looking good for quick restoration. Current ETA is a few weeks. That is the biggest problem by far.

Gas, ice, etc are also incredibly hard to come by in Houston based on what people I've talked to have said. The vast majority of our employees for both companies have no power or water at home and life is pretty miserable now for many of them.

For these things, there is nothing we can do but wait.

In terms of actual physical damage, it's still minimal and shouldn't take much time to fix once the power is back. We had broken windows during the hurricane and minimal other wind damage, but the day after the hurricane, there was some major flooding and rain going on in Harris county and by the time everything was said and done, we did have some minor water damage. Beyond that, our signs are gone, etc.

We had things assessed quickly without power so it could change, but right now the first estimate was around $100K in damage. Keep in mind that we actually own the office building which encompasses HostGator (floors 3 & 4), VOIPo (2nd floor), and a credit union and other tenants. So this is not $100K in damage to VOIPo...just in general.

Ironically, we have been waiting for weeks for permits to install a new $200K generator which is sitting outside of the office, just not connected.

Overall, we were pretty lucky and fared substantially better than many people. There is major damage all over Houston though.

My neighborhood actually has all utilities and is in good shape now. That whole area is only 2-3 years old so everything was underground, etc. It was also on the west side which wasn't as bad. The big issue is that since we're the side of town with gas, restaurants and stores open everyone is pouring in and I'm told it's a big big big mess with waiting hours for gas, etc.

Our Plan

Right now, it's a waiting game until the public infrastructure is back and everyone has water and power. Many roads are not passable and there are curfews in place. We can't return to normal operations until this is cleared up.

For HostGator, we have 15 people around the clock handling critical issues from a temporary contingency space in the Time Warner NOC in Houston. For VOIPo, we have 2 people working remotely not including me and all monitoring is in place as usual.

I'm flying back in today, but staying in Dallas for at least the next couple days to give things in Houston a little more time to recover.

Our plan is to asses the progress by weekend to see where we stand. Hopefully there will be major progress made this week in the restoration efforts.

I don't forsee any issues for VOIPo at all. Orders are still being processed and shipped. Tickets are being responded too, but slower than usual.

If you have a question or run into a problem, feel free to open a ticket. Just keep in mind the response will be slower than normal if not a critical issue given the current situation.