7/30/2008 10:00 AM - GAB
We are scheduled to start moving back into the office building on 8/18.
6/26/2008 12:00 PM - Temporary Office Location
Now that all the staff members have returned from NSCA At Infocomm, it is time to get the office back in order! We have secured a temporary office earlier this week and are in the process of getting data and voice lines provisioned from QWest. On Tuesday, we went back to the old office location to remove some paperwork, PCs, and other equipment before they lock down the building again for disinfection process. The entire downtown area of Cedar Rapids is still without power. Alliant Energy has no timeline as to when the power may return, as many of the underground vaults are still flooded. A waiting game right now.
Here are some links to the power situation in downtown CR -
Alliant Energy Report Delayed Until Friday
Alliant Energy Press Release
6/19/2008 12:50 PM - ALL STAFF MEETING
NSCA STAFF - Please check your email for details on the upcoming All Staff Meeting.
6/19/2008 12:45 PM - Remote Access Server
The remote access server is ready to be deployed now. I will be contacting individuals with access information as I finish setting up accounts, file permissions, network folders, GoldMine and email archives.
6/18/2008 12:00 PM - Email Recovery
Email recovery is happening right now. I have pulled the actual email server from the office and am in the process of recovering data up until 7 PM last Wednesday, when the backup site kicked in.
6/17/2008 3:00 PM - One Hour Inside GAB
We had one hour to get in and get the stuff we need (noon to 1 PM today). Pulled three internal drives, one external backup drive and one server. Going to get those added to the new replacement servers. Our office is in good shape, except for a leak from upstairs right outside Jodi's office. Ryan has been notified and they are taking care of the situation. As for outside, there are checkpoints around GAB and tons of cleanup crew, more so than what I have seen of other parts of the downtown area. The thing that these photos and videos cannot capture - the smell. Bad river water mixed with dead fish. You can smell it blocks away as you approach the downtown area. Maybe we'll appreciate the smell of Mount Trashmore now ....
Looks like no windows are broken on the first floor.
Lot's of these folks in black t-shirts cleaning up around and inside the first floor of GAB.
A washed out area outside GAB.
A washer in the middle of our parking lot.
Someone's office chair got washed down to here.
Everywhere in the flooded area you see this color scheme, gray river sand and pebbles.
Sandbagging effort @ Intermec and the final water line.
The library across the street from GAB.
Smulekoff's first floor is basically destroyed.
6/17/2008 8:00 AM - GAB Re-Entry!
Linda just got words from Rayn Companies that we can enter the building after 12 PM today. Downtown is open and we can drive up to the building. Building management said we need flashlight and rubber boots. I will be meeting with Linda at 12:15 PM.
6/16/2008 9:15 PM - Servers Co-Location
Rack space has been secured at a remote data center. Backup servers will be deployed to the new location within next couple days.
6/16/2008 12:45 PM - Flood Level
Looks like the flood level gauge is back online. As of noon it is at 21.18 ft. The river level is now out of GAB's parking areas. Continuing the waiting game.
6/16/2008 11:30 AM - Oops - Flood Level Still Dropping; Gauge Broken
Looks like the reason why the flood level remained constant over last 24 hours is because the gauge is broken! Good news! Water is still slowly falling.
6/16/2008 9:20 AM - Servers Arrived
FexEx just delivered two replacement servers and I will be spending next day or so getting those configured and setup with data from backups. I have called Jeff at Involta and we are in the process of getting some rack space in their Cedar Falls data center.
6/16/2008 7:30 AM - Flood Level
Flood level has remained fairly the same (24.13 ft) over last 24 hours, rather than continuing the receeding pattern after cresting. Water may be dropping slower than originally predicted.
www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php
6/16/2008 7:00 AM - No Access on Monday
Slight setback to re-entry into the flooded areas. Looks like they are finding the danger levels to be higher than expected. They are ceasing access via Skywalk for business owners too on Monday.
www.kcrg.com/news/local/19966759.html
www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article
6/15/2008 10:00 PM - Power in Downtown CR One Step Closer
This was just posted online: As of 9:30pm Sunday, a major substation is en route to Cedar Rapids. Alliant Energy says this is the first step to getting power on in downtown Cedar Rapids. The unit started its journey today in Boone and should arrive at its final resting spot before the end of the night. The unit weighs 240,000 lbs. and would normally have to be transported by rail. However, because of the emergency situation state officials allowed it to be transported on the roads.
6/15/2008 8:15 PM - Photo of First Street
New photo showing First Street. Looks like the water is down to walkable level now. Hope it keeps going down - fast!
6/15/2008 3:00 PM - GAB Information
As usual, in situations like this, we have a constant moving target of information. Linda just spoke with Amanda from the building. Ryan is having a meeting among their staff members now to determine on how to move ahead with the GAB opening once they are allowed in. We're still looking at Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest and hopefully after that they will start allowing tenants like us in to retrieve a few items. On another note, the new servers are still on target to arrive by Monday morning.
6/15/2008 2:00 PM - Re-Entry Information
Updated re-entry information:
www.kcrg.com/news/local/19955894.html
6/15/2008 1:50 PM - Flood Water Retreating
Flood water is retreating faster than expected. We're at 24.31 ft as of 1 PM today. If it's down to 22 feet it will be out of the GAB area. Of course, that is just the river level. There will be a lot of mess to pump out after that. They're expecting the river to fall back to 22 ft by noon on Monday. Side note. I heard that someone in GAB asked the building maintenance if they can land a helicopter on the roof to retrieve items. I think we need to add a copter landing pad after this!
6/15/2008 10:45 AM - GAB Information
Just spoke with Matt from the building. He said the water went over into the parking lot around 22 feet flood level. From the look of things, we are hoping that the strike team will have access to the building within next 2 to 3 days. So, hopefully soon after that we can go in and retrieve few items.
6/14/2008 6:45 PM - Re-Entry Information
From KCRG, Current Plans for Homeowners and Businesses:
http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/19944099.html
6/13/2008 8:45 PM - GAB and Area Photos
Some photos I pulled from TV clips:
The Great America Building - NSCA on 4th Floor
The Public Library across the street from NSCA.
Mercy Medical Center, 8 blocks away from NSCA.
6/13/2008 6:30 PM - Flood Level Slow Fall
Just heard this on TV. Flood water is on slow fall right now. We're at 30-ish feet and by Wednesday they're hoping we will be back down to 19-ish feet of the 1993 flood level. Flood stage is at 12 feet.
6/13/2008 4:00 PM - Des Moines
Looks like they're calling for voluntary evac for Des Moines, where this server and our elearning server are located, 130 miles away from the flood mess of Cedar Rapids. The servers are located in a data center on the 19th floor, so physically they will not get damaged. But, like CR, if they're without power and internet connections, they're pretty much, pardon the pun, dead in the water. If this backup site goes down, IT will use emails to communicate with the staff. Our backup email solution is based in North Carolina. Hope a hurricane does not hit there any time soon ....
6/13/2008 3:30 PM - ESPA Email
ESPA email to Grant is now being re-routed to another location where Grant can check the emails.
6/13/2008 3:00 PM - Drove on I-380
Yes, I was bad. I just took a drive from corner of Edgewood and O Ave down to US 30 to I-380 up to Collins and then back, just to see what kind of mess our office building is in. It does not look good. I would be surprised if we get back in the office building this month. So in preparing for the worst, new servers have been ordered and I am working with LightEdge to secure temporary hosting location at its data center. Focus will be to get remote access, shared network drives, email archives, Goldmine and Dynamics back online using backup data. I hope to have major data systems back online next week, before majority of the office staff members return from Las Vegas.
6/13/2008 2:40 PM - Main Phone Number Forward
Sometime this afternoon, all calls to NSCA's main and toll free numbers will be forwarded to Ashlee's cell, instead of Jodi's. Ashlee will then facilitate call routing to appropriate departments. LightEdge is working on this right now.
6/13/2008 10:30 AM - Email Access
All of the staff members have been contacted with the new email access information. If I happen to have missed you, I am so sorry! Please call me at home or on my cell.
6/13/2008 9:30 AM - Email Access
The temporary email system has been set up. I am in the process of calling all of the staff members with the access information.
6/13/2008 7:30 AM - Email Access Setup
We're still on target to get the backup email receive/send online sometime today.
6/12/2008 9:50 PM - Email Access Setup
An alternative email delivery system will be up sometime on Friday. Once that is up and running I will be calling all staff members with instructions how to access it.
6/12/2008 8:00 PM - Email Access Setup
Since we probably will not be able to get to the building for a few days at least, I am working with the company (Solid Space) servicing our nsca.org domain name to come up with an alternative email delivery and sending system and hope to get that in place within next day or two. Stay tune.
6/12/2008 11:00 AM - Power to Downtown
As of 9:30 am, Thursday, June 12, all of Cedar Rapids downtown is without power. Alliant Energy’s Sixth Street power plant had to be shut down and evacuated. Customers without power in the 500-year flood plain will be without power indefinitely.
6/12/2008 10:15 AM - Main Phone Line Forward
Got confirmation back from LightEdge that calls to our main and toll free lines are being forwarded onto Jodi's business cell phone for now. This has been tested.
6/12/2008 8:50 AM - Couple Links
Nothing new to report, but here are some interesting links to read -
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=dvn&gage=cidi4&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1
http://www.alliantenergy.com/docs/groups/public/documents/pub/pregion_details.hcsp?region_id=4
6/12/2008 8:00 AM - Web Sites Updates
Notice of possible extended office downtime is posted to the three main web sites - www.nsca.org, www.nscafoundation.org and www.nscaatinfocomm.org.
6/12/2008 7:45 AM - Water in GAB Parking Lots
Linda has checked with the building people and looks like water is up over both of the parking lots. Power is off to the building and there is no way to get in without physical keys.
6/12/2008 7:30 AM - Main Phone Line Forward
LightEdge has been notified and they will be routing all calls to 319-366-6722 and associated toll free number to Jodi at 319-651-0112. This will happen sometime today.
6/12/2008 6:22 AM - Power to Downtown
As of 12:25 AM, the Cedar Substation has taken in water. Alliant Energy has currently turned off power to the down town area in an attempt to preserve this area from further or long lasting damage.
The buildings affected by this power outage:
GTC/APAC
Great American Building
Armstrong Center
Smuelekoff's
Cedar Rapids Public Library
Penford
6/11/2008 10:45 PM - Power to GAB
Looks like we lost power to the building. The servers all have initiated shutdown. At this time, all data services from the CR office are offline, including email access. Incoming emails to nsca.org are being accumulated at our DSM facility for now, but we will not be able to send or check incoming emails.
6/11/2008 7:00 PM - Power to Downtown
As of 1:00 pm, Wednesday, June 11, Alliant Energy continues to manage the current flooding and prepare for the forecast increases. Pumps located in the downtown area continue to operate well with the current water levels. However, we are preparing the downtown system (located between the river to 8th Street SE to the east and from the River to 5th Avenue to the south) to operate at higher water levels. With the historic nature and length of the flooding predicted; it is not possible to assure that the downtown system will continue to operate normally. The system is designed to work even when underground vaults are flooded, but flooding could reduce the reliability of the system. As a result, businesses located in the downtown business district are strongly encouraged to initiate their contingency plans for the loss of electric service. If flooding is occurring in a downtown office building, the facility manager is encouraged to disconnect their electrical systems for safety.
This is an evolving situation as the flood forecasts continue to change and additional heavy precipitation is forecasted for today and tomorrow. Alliant Energy has implemented its emergency operations plans and are closely monitoring the downtown district’s electric system and is taking steps to minimize the potential impact upon your electric service. Alliant Energy apologizes for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers is our top priority. If service is impacted, service will be reconnected when flood waters subside and it is determined that it is safe to do so. Alliant Energy will continue to provide updates as the situation changes.
6/11/2008 3:30 PM - First Post
Nothing to report yet. Check back periodically.