Hurricane Sandy, the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history, is a lesson in how the best-laid contingency plans can be shredded in no time when an extreme weather event hits.
Sandy was the "acid test" for data centers wanting to know whether they had a comprehensive disaster recovery plan, says Mark Evanko, principal engineer at BRUNS-PAK. Evanko cites instances of data centers going down that also took down operations in Chicago and Dallas. Hospital complexes in the New York metro area had to evacuate because power and communications went down.
During the storm, water rose 13 feet above sea level, which caused New York City to expand its flood plain area and redraw its flood maps. A lot of basements in multitenant data centers were flooded, and that is where much of the critical infrastructure was located.
A recent article in Building Operating Management covers how the storm has spurred a new way of thinking about data center resiliency.
Designing for Distraction: Benefits for Children, Families
Staffing and Consolidation Reshape Outpatient Facility Strategies
Adams Health Network Falls Victim to Phishing Attack
Ventilation and Filtering for Infection Control 
ChristianaCare Opens Aston Campus Neighborhood Hospital