It is not a matter of "if" a disaster will occur, but "when" a disaster will occur.  It is important to understand the possible risks and develop steps to minimize the risks to an acceptable level.  Planning for potential interruptions and having a plan in place for recovery is critical.  Disaster recovery teams need to understand their roles and responsibilities.  It is important to NOT make assumptions, but TEST your plan at least annually and modify it as needed.  When thinking about disaster recovery and planning efforts, it is important to remember the interconnectivity of our IT processes and business strategies.  The IT Disaster Recovery Plan must be continuously reviewed, maintained, and tested. 

It is critical each department have a business continuity plan that addresses how the department would carry out their critical functions in the event of a disaster and/or in the event that a critical information system is inaccessible. The plan should be tested, and staff should understand their roles and responsibilities if and when such "disaster" situations occur.  Only by incorporating disaster recovery and business continuity into our everyday routines can we guarantee that we're ready for the worst.

• North Carolina Disasters
  
• East Carolina University - Lessons Learned from Floyd

Higher/ED Related Articles:

• Tulane University: Confessions and Advice, After the Storm
  Confessions and Advice, After the Storm. “John D. Lawson, the chief information officer at Tulane University, garnered a standing ovation from a crowd at the Higher Education Leadership Forum, a two-day event sponsored by The Chronicle and Gartner. His talk covered in detail Tulane’s preparation for Hurricane Katrina and the issues the university dealt with in the aftermath.”
  
• Dartmouth University: College group plans for disaster response”
  “In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and New Hampshire’s October flooding, Dartmouth’s Emergency Management Committee is preparing for future natural disasters that may affect the College.”
  
• Tulane University: Disaster Recovery: The Time Is Now
  “On the heels of Katrina, it’s time to get a top-flight disaster recovery plan into place….Although many have argued that the proportions of the Katrina disaster went far beyond a scale that can be planned for, others insist that the tools of disaster recovery planning (DRP) aren’t necessarily prohibitive in terms of dollar or time investment, nor do they need to be highly complex. ”
  
• Gwatchet.com
  Universities look to back up online services. “In the aftermath of last month’s hurricanes, Makos said 284 Gulf Coast-area businesses and schools contracted with SunGard appealed to the company for technology help [...] In order to make the University’s information technology more resilient, Information Systems and Services oversaw the construction of a new data center on GW’s Ashburn, Va., campus as a mirrored backup to the primary center in Foggy Bottom.”
  
• College Planning and Management magazine: Disaster Preparedness
  Disaster Preparedness. “The crisis management team held a series of meetings, the first of which was September 16, three days before the storm was scheduled to make landfall. “At this meeting, we put our plan into place,” says Rubertone.”
  
• Fairfield University: Colleges revamp plans for emergencies
  “Colleges across the nation are quickly revamping security plans for natural disaster emergencies following the closings of several universities in the Gulf Coast area prompted by Hurricane Katrina.”