Here's a fact, the next ICANN meeting in March is still a go in San Juan PR. Hopefully bringing 2000 people will have a positive impact on the local economy.
> -----Original Message----- > From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-boun...@nanog.org] On Behalf Of Todd > Underwood > Sent: October 19, 2017 7:56 PM > To: Jean-Francois Mezei <jfmezei_na...@vaxination.ca> > Cc: NANOG list <nanog@nanog.org> > Subject: Re: Puerto Rico: Lack of electricity threatens telephone and internet > services > > This thread is mostly full of idle speculation, is at the least insensitive > and > verges on offensive. > > If you have operational information about Puerto Rico (see Sean Donelan's > posts rather than these responses), please go ahead. If you would like to > allocate blame, please go somewhere else to do it. The Internet is full of > people who are blaming Puerto Rico for getting hit by a hurricane. I don't > need it here. > > Thanks, > > T > (From Humacao) > > El 19 oct. 2017 19:45, "Jean-Francois Mezei" > <jfmezei_na...@vaxination.ca> > escribió: > > On 2017-10-19 18:18, Wayne Bouchard wrote: > > Well, the problem as I understand it is that the infrastructure was > > not all that great to begin with. Much of it was damaged in the first > > storm and when this second one came through, what remained basically > > disappeared. > > > Being hit with a Cat 5 hurricane/cyclone in a caribeean island that hasn't > been a direct hit from severe storms in decades will cause extensive damage > no matter what state its infrastructure was in before. > > Vegetation that does not regular storms to "prune" it will grow to a point > where it will cause major damage when a big storm hits. > > And a caribbean island who has never been "rich" will not have had, as a > priority, increasing building codes to widthstand hurricanes. Building codes > get updated after a big devastating hurricane, whether it is for Darwin in > 1974 (Tracy) or ones like Andrew in Florida. > > It's easy for a state the size of Texas to send all of its electrical utility > trucks > to the Houson area to repair damage. But they too would be stretched thin if > all of Texas had been leveled. > > If buildings were not built to widthstand a 5 or a 4, then the building itself > becomes destructor of infrastructure as its materials become high speed > projectiles throuwn at other buildings and especially teleohone/electrical > lines. > > I went through a category 4 (Olivia, Australia 1996). While the town and > building I was in (Karatha) were built to new standards and had little damage, > I witnessed the power of it, and I can totally understand Puerto Rico being > destroyed. > > I know a politician with tendancy to skew facts points to Puerto Rico having > had terrible infrastructure. But consider that Darwin, a "rich" > town" was wiped out in 1974 by Tracy. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B89wBGydSvs > > Tracy was a 4. Maria was a 5. > (note the alert sound at start of video still sends shivers down my spine > because it was the same as I heard before Olivia hit). > > The population was evacuated by 747s because there was nothing there to > support it. The road link to is (Stuart Highway) is so long that Darwin is > tantamount to an island. (especially since Stuart wasn't fully paved back > then). > > > Also note: in Florida, the utilities positioned all their equipment in safe > places > so it could survive storm and be deployed when needed. But what happens > when there is no safe place, or the safe places become isolated because > roads become impassable? > > > It is one thing when a state has some areas with high level of destruction. > But when the whole state is destroyed, it is a truly different situation > because > its economy is also destroyed. Florida Power still has plenty of revenues from > undamaged areas to pay for the repairs in damaged areas. The Utility in > Puerto Rico doesn't. (and if it was finacially weak before, it makes things > worse). > > When you see other states' utilities coming to help in a highly damaged area, > don't think for a minute they do this for free. The local utility stll gets a > bill at > the end of the day for the work done. If the Puerto Rico company has no > cash to pay, don't exopect other utilities to send crews.