e-CYREN Blog

At the time, it all seemed surreal. As I left work, on August 14, 20003, around 4:00 PM, I realized that the radio station I always listen to was not broadcasting, but I really didn’t think much of it until I tried other stations. None were working, and I immediately go onto the freeway home; oblivious to the traffic signals not working. Once I exited the freeway, I immediately realized something was wrong (the car radio still wasn’t working), and now there was traffic chaos because the signals were out. I tried my cell phone, which did not work (Cingular was my carrier then), so I used a pay phone and got through to my office. I was informed that there was a blackout across the state and that the hospital (where I work) was on generator power. A thirty-five minute trip home took me three hours, but I was able to buy a cold beverage because I had cash money, which came in handy at a gas station where the pumps and cash register were disabled. After arriving home, I realized there was no hot water, and that my decision to get rid of my land line telephone was a big mistake. However, I did find my battery operated radio and a couple candles. It was a long, dark night and the blackness of normal darkness was somewhat unsettling; we’re so use to artificial light. During the early hours of morning (4:00 AM) I learned that my hospital pager still worked, and they were trying to reach me. With no land line or operable cell phone, I left home in total darkness and went to a nearby hospital to use their land line phone. I learned a valuable lesson about redundant communications during this ordeal. What lessons did I learn from this event? There were a few, which are worth sharing....