Photo Credit: Pexels

Preparing Your IT Systems for Natural Disaster in Kansas City

By Dave Warner, Systems Engineer at Cenetric

A few weeks ago, the Cenetric team scurried down to the basement of our building as the tornado sirens blared all around the area. As Kansas Citians, of course, our first instinct was to go outside and get a look for ourselves, but right after that, we got down to the basement. 

Severe weather season is a good time to stop and think about the disaster response plans you have for your business. From tornadoes to ice storms to fires to floods, nearly every business has the potential to be struck by natural disaster. Other disasters like a cyberattack, utility outage or hazardous material spill could affect your business as well. 

So how do you get (and stay) prepared for a potential disaster in Kansas City?

Step 1: Take an inventory and assess potential impact

First, take an inventory of your entire network from devices to software to servers. (As an added bonus, you’ll likely discover pesky tech debt — technologies you don’t use anymore or should be upgraded for more efficiency.)

Next, evaluate what would happen if any part of your infrastructure became inoperable or unavailable. What if your servers went down? What about your Wi-Fi? Would you lose sales or clients if you experienced an outage? Consider every potential effect throughout your network.

Step 2: Back up your systems

After you have the lay of the land, immediately prioritize backing up your systems. And no, we don’t mean create a physical back up that you need to grab before you evacuate or take shelter. Best practice in 2025 is to back up your systems in the cloud or at an alternate location. 

Fun fact: In Kansas City, old limestone mines have become an ideal space to house data centers to back up companies’ systems, keeping them safe from above-ground dangers like tornadoes and winter storms. 

Step 3: Document it all

Your disaster recovery plan is only as good as the documentation you have for it. What good is being prepared if you don’t have something to refer to when disaster strikes? (Especially if you’re shaken up or don’t have access to your entire team’s help.)

If you don’t have a documented plan ready, you’re not alone — 39% of executives in a 2025 survey said they had no formal protocols or response planning in place.

Create a document that tells everyone what they should do if a disaster occurs. How should non-IT personnel escalate an issue? If you have an IT team, do you have an on-call schedule so someone is always available to address issues? What are the procedures for rolling to backup data or systems if your network goes down? Everything you’ve spent time considering should be documented and everyone should know their personal role in getting back up and running. 

Step 4: Get expert help

Not sure how to approach all this — especially if you don’t have an IT staff? The experts at Cenetric are experienced in helping prevent and recover from disasters of all kinds in all sorts of environments, but we can also help you make a plan for when things are out of your control. With a plan, periodic reviews, testing and expert help, your business can avoid the pitfalls of tornadoes and other natural (or man-made) disasters to avoid outages and stay operational.

Do you need responsive, expert IT services you can trust — or do you have a unique technology challenge to tackle? Let’s talk about it. If you’re in Kansas City or the surrounding area, Cenetric has the experience you’re looking for.