Dude, Natural Disasters happen to everyone! - By Doug Mohney

Views and Opinions on Green IT (Apr 15 2010)

1. 

   At least one blogger wants to call Iceland out as a Bad Place for a data center because they had some volcanic activity this week.  Dude, seriously, are you writing from the safety of the moon? 

   The blog, awkwardly titled "With recent volcanic activity how long will it take before anyone considers Iceland for a data center?," accurately notes Iceland's push to get more data center business before ripping into the country for promoting its low risk -- not NO risk, LOW, risk -- of natural disasters, followed by a report fresh off of AP citing the evacuation of 800 people from around the Eyjafjallajokull glacier because of flooding due to volcanic activity melting the glacier.

   Mr. I-am-safe-in-my-glass-house Blogger concludes "Can anyone be taken seriously now if they listed Iceland as a site for a data center?" and asserts that the "perception of risks" given recent volcanic activity have changed, without providing support.

   I love being snarky as much as the next guy, but seriously, I can't see how this can be taken very seriously at all.  

   By this vague metric of risk, we should pull all data centers out of Hawaii (volcanoes) as a first step, followed by Southern California (Earthquakes, landslides, Tsunamis), and many other parts of the world. Let's also rule out China, Chile, and Haiti since they've just had major earthquakes, and for that matter any real estate along the Pacific "Ring of Fire."

   Of course, this would mean that the blog's site of operations in Bellevue, Washington would have to move, since it sits on the "Ring of Fire" along the Cascade Volcanic Arc with its 20 major volcanoes and potential for disaster.  One might argue that Mount St. Helens has been quiet since last erupting in 1980, but since it's only 96 miles south of Seattle and Bellevue, how safe can you really be if it starts acting up again?

   Did I mention the U.S. Geological Survey risk assessment of the Seattle area? You've got the potential for flooding, Tsunamis triggered by earthquakes and landslides, Mount Rainier listed as an active volcano, annnd the potential for earthquakes all over the region.

   The real issue with  Icelandic volcanic activity isn't about a threat to the country's data center business, but its impact on the tourist industry.   People from around the world want to visit the volcano but the latest eruption has put enough ash into the air to affect flights across Europe.  Not exactly clouds with "silver lining."

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