Causes Of Data Loss: Natural Disaster

Causes Of Data Loss: Natural Disaster Natural Disasters is the least likely cause of data loss however they can kill an entire company. The eruption of natural disasters and the complete equipment failure are rare but they do occur. Although it accounts for around 3% of all data loss but the magnitude of data loss is highest.

The disaster may strike anywhere and occurs in many shapes and sizes. Natural disasters may occur in the form of fire, flood, lightening strikes followed by power surges.

You can protect your valuable information from getting destroyed by the evil effects of a disaster by following the below-mentioned preventive measures.

Since, it is statistically unlikely for natural disasters to occur in two locations simultaneously. Hence, the perfect solution to protect your system from a natural disaster is an offsite backup i.e. you can keep your data in two different locations away from each other.

Fire Damage:
When the fire catches your computer, it may damage the plastic encasings and components of the computer but the data present in the metal hard drive may still be recovered. There are many data recovery software & Service companies, which provide data recovery from fire damages.

When the fire strikes, you can do a bit from your end to lessen the extent of damage.

• When your computer becomes wet from fire hoses, take the wet hard drive out of the system and do not dry; instead place it in a plastic and airtight bag. It is because during a fire, with the help of small air vents, extreme pressure changes pull the contaminants and water inside the drive.
• If you notice that you are not able to pull the hard drive out of the melted computer because it is sealed, then leave it like that.

Flood:
When a single drop of water can short out your computer, what when the whole equipment is completely submerged in the river water. Calculate the extent of damage when it is sunken not only for an hour but for days. However, no matter what, your data can still be recovered if you follow the following measures.

• Make sure that you turn off the computer and do not turn it on. It is because the drive may seem dry but there is small amount of water, which may still be present on the components and can cause a short when powered on.
• You may think that drying the wet drive may be of help but it is not the case. However, dried water leaves contaminants on the drive and can cause a head crash to occur when the system is powered on. Hence, it is recommended to place the media in a plastic airtight bag instead.
• Do not store your mission critical data in a flood plain.

Power outage/ surge:
Power outages are known to be the most common cause of data loss than all other natural disasters.

When you notice a spark, smoke or you observe that your hard drive does not spin and if it is, you are unable to access the information, then your system might be victim of a power surge. Power problems caused by small surges, spikes, sparks and line sags in the electricity make it essential to protect servers, workstations, and networks.

When you think of preventing data loss due to power supply problems, you automatically think of connecting your system to a UPS (Uninterrupted power supply), surge protectors, isolation transformers, or a surge suppressor. However, you can follow these protective measures to prevent your computer from a disastrous effect.

• Make sure that you unplug all the power cords connected to your system in order to prevent further damage to have occurred. The cords could be a power cable, modem, printer, or network cable.
• The most severe damage to your hard drive occurs when the power supply returns. Therefore, after the power returns, wait for at least half an hour for the power to get stabilized and then you may power on the computer.
• UPS main objective is to provide continuous, sufficient-grade power to electronics possessing valuable information. So, make sure that you connect your system with a UPS or a surge protector to prevent your computer from further power attacks. It is for the reason that extreme power fluctuations can damage sensitive electronic components.

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Reasons and Costs of Data Loss

Computer data may be one of your company’s most valuable and vulnerable assets. According to our experience, the primary threats to your data include:

  • Hardware or System Problems
  • Human Error
  • Software Corruption or Program Problems
  • Computer Viruses
  • Natural Disasters

These five major threats to your computer data share two things in common: they are unpredictable and, in many cases, uncontrollable. Therefore, the precautions taken by IT professionals to safeguard company data cannot always prevent a data loss.

Computer users and many experts often consider lost data permanently destroyed, with no hope of recovery. Information about lost data can be complex, inconsistent or inaccurate, so it’s not surprising that data loss and data recovery are some of the most confusing and misunderstood concepts.

In addition to being a vulnerable asset, computer data is also a valuable asset.

Based on the information below it is easy to see how significant the costs of lost or inaccessible data can be. The following is a summary of the average hourly impact of lost data on a selection of different businesses.

Type of Business & Average Hourly Impact

Costs Of Data Loss

When time is crucial and data is mission-critical, data recovery may be the most practical option available. Data recovery professionals recover data from the damaged media itself, providing several advantages over alternative methods of data retrieval.

1) Complete – Data recovery professionals can safely enter the system or media to achieve a comprehensive data recovery.

2) Current – Although many people revert to backups following a data loss, those backups typically contain outdated information or could be corrupt themselves. Data recovery can help you access the most recent version of the lost data.

3) Fast – Every second that passes following a data disaster means time and money lost to your company. Data recovery reduces this downtime by quickly recovering and returning your data.

4) Cost-effective – The expense in time, money, and effort of rebuilding or re-keying lost data can be overwhelming to your company. Data recovery can provide the quickest and most complete data recovery possible.

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