Flooding, what are the odds that the two cities we work in get hit?
POSTED BY Rick Latona IN Featured, Web Sites

During my recent trip abroad, my home town of Atlanta was pummled with rain. I returned only this Friday after it was, for the most part, over. My wife promptly reminded me that I'm always away when disaster strikes.

One time, when she was pregnant, the city froze over and the power went out in our neighborhood. Over the phone I told her to go to the nearest hotel with working electricity. Problem was she couldn't open the power garage door to get the car out. We got her to saftey using friends but that's a memory that won't fade any time soon.

During the Atlanta flooding last week no harm was done to my office or staff but we were shut down a couple of days. Ryan made the correct judgment call to close up when 2.5 feet of rain was dumped on Paulding County where he resides. It would have been wrong to ask anyone to drive. I'm glad he did that and I'm glad that everyone was safe. Seems the worse of what hit our camp is we all have a lot of clean up work to do to our yards as there are branches and debris everywhere.

Now, it appears our operation in The Philippines is at risk. Considering our team there is much larger than our team in Atlanta and their resources and access to assistance are much less than what we enjoy here in the States, the problem is much more troubling.

My sincerest and best wishes to everyone in the greater Manila area. Stay safe. Don't worry about work assigned to you. Just don't get hurt and protect your family.

  • http://geoowners.com Tim Davids

    Was thinking this week how you did on the Atlanta side of things...glad to hear everyone is safe. When the New Orleans fiasco happened I bought a rubber raft to keep in the closet just in case. Last year a city about 20 miles from us was totally submerged so you never know.

  • Kevin

    Dramatic BBC Video Coverage From Manilla

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUB7Uivf4lw

    Hope all your crew over there is safe Rick. Situation looks pretty bad with 80% of Manilla under water and 280,000 people homeless.

    Weather reports say it was the most rain ever recorded in the city with nearly 17 inches in just 12 hours.

  • Kevin

    Cars floating everywhere in downtown Manilla

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHTYKwI7qZg

  • http://twitter.com/Jessica320 Jessica

    hi rick,

    i feel sorry for your people in Manila. although i reside in Mindanao, i feel that we are one with the flood victims of Manila (for those who do not know, Philippines is subdivided into three major areas: Luzon (northern part), Visayas (middle), and Mindanao (southern part). Manila is in Luzon.

    I hate to say this but if your men reside in Pasig or in Cainta, Rizal, in Marikina or Quezon city, they are undoubtedly part of those who were either trapped at the rooftops of their homes due to the fast-rising flood, or those who braved waist-deep waters in order to get to safer grounds or save their lives.

    But i also have no doubt they have all survived and are recovering. Filipinos are resilient. They always bounce back no matter the hardships and/or calamities they experience in life, man-made or not.

    It's nice that you feel for their safety and even went out of your way to express your concerns by way of your blog. That's a mark of a good leader...You can also reach out to make them feel that you truly care. Why not organize some of your wealthy, cause-oriented friends - in the domaining world, for example - for a fund-raising?...to help some of the victims, not only your employees and their families...Or if that sounds "big," just donate some cash out of your own pocket. Your men will surely profusely thank you for the initiative and kindness. Hey, you can make a difference, why not?

    and call me naive or ignorant, but i don't really think your business could be severely affected, in a way that it won't be operational again in the next two weeks or month. Just let your people clean up the mess left by "Ondoy," in their homes, and in your office/building. Water and electricity won't be back at least in a week anyway.

    If you lost or damage your hardware, you could always replace them. If you lost all your data and necessary files on the computers due to the freak incident, you could always start all over again. What's important is you didn't lose (we hope so) your men, who carry the blueprint of your business in their heads. If your team is good, clients will follow. In fact, they will pour in knowing your company was also a victim...Just a wild guess.

    This is the first time that a flood this scale and depth ever happened in Manila. Within just 6 hours of continuous heavy downpour, water filled the place past the brink. Experts say the volume is equivalent to a month-long rainfall. Some say it's worst than Katrina...Whatever, it's not the "usual" flood we encounter here, so no worries. Filipinos do what they do best:... prevail.

    Just few hours ago i talked to someone - a long-time domainer - who expressed an interest in working with Filipinos. He asked me if i can show him the right people or i got connections. I told him i can help and also mentioned about you having a company here in the Philippines. I hope that will make him decide to move on.

  • http://www.mellowmasher.com michelle

    Hi Rick .. Its heart breaking to see what has happened there and thank god all your colleagues are alive and well .. May they stay safe and get back to some order soon.

  • Kevin

    Looks like the Philippines are going to get another direct hit. Now Typhoon Pharma striking as a Cat 4 hurricane on Saturday.

    http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp200919.html

  • http://www.successclick.com Stephen Douglas

    Hi Rick,

    The safety and comfort for the people of Atlanta and the Phillipines are being prayed for worldwide.

    (This may not sit well with Pat Robertson.)

    Seriously, it's time that we ALL took a serious look at these natural disasters and ask "why?". Global warming? Climate manipulation through massive pollution?

    This isn't really the focus right now when people are suffering in these disasters, but it's a lesson we should have been prepared for when Katrina happened.

    I hope everyone on your team makes it through these disasters safely. Neesie's and my prayers are with you and your family.

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