Nature vs. The Power Grid

When it comes to data center connectvity outages, backhoes are usually Public Enemy Number One. What about power outages? These often have natural causes, as documented by Pingdom in a post that examines Mother Nature's assault on electricity and the Internet. A review of power outages thus far in 2008 reveals that the grid has been brought low by rats, squirrels, birds, snakes, raccoons and at least one opossum. Storms, floods and earthquakes also figure prominently.