Lessons from Hurricane Katrina: It Pays to Have a Disaster Recovery Plan in Place
"Monday was not a good day." That's how Entergy CIO Ray Johnson, not one for hyperbole, remembers Aug. 29, 2005, the day Hurricane Katrina roared ashore on the Gulf Coast. But Entergy's recovery efforts can be traced back to long before Katrina hit.
For the next few weeks, the business continuity work continues for Johnson, who currently calls the Jackson Hilton home along with his wife, and two daughters and his dog – at least for the four or five hours a day he isn’t working.
Should he start to lose focus, Johnson stares at his computer screen. It’s adorned with a picture taken the Sunday after the hurricane and the subsequent flood swept through New Orleans. It depicts a few office buildings in a small section of the CBD that Entergy was able to restore power to in the early going. "You could see that little piece of the CBD lit up and reflecting off the river. It was just a few days after Katrina and it didn’t get much media coverage. But I made it my screensaver," says Johnson. "It’s just one small area. But it gives you hope."
--Stephanie Overby
Hurricane Katrina
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