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How should a Florida dental practice handle IT in hurricane season?

June through November is an infrastructure season. The closet, the copy, and the circuit are the drill.

Journal · Chairside Manners · D·04 | Last reviewed: October 1, 2026 | 3 min read | By CyberDental Group LLC, Hialeah, Florida

Short answer: Hurricane season (June 1 to November 30) is an infrastructure season for Florida dental practices. Keep an encrypted off-site backup, protect the server closet from water and power loss, test UPS and internet failover, shut down in a defined order before landfall, and write a recovery procedure that includes HIPAA's emergency-mode requirements. Do not power on flooded equipment.

At a glance
Season June 1 – November 30
Three priorities The closet (physical), the copy (off-site backup), the circuit (power and internet)
HIPAA link Contingency plan: backup, disaster recovery and emergency mode operation plans
After flooding Do not power on wet equipment
Resource National Hurricane Center, Florida Division of Emergency Management

Why is hurricane season an IT issue?

Because storms break the three things a dental IT environment depends on: the building (water, wind), the power, and the connection. Florida practices have lived through enough named storms to know that a plan written the week before landfall is too late. The practical approach is to treat June through November as an infrastructure season with a standing drill.

What are the three priorities?

1. The closet. Where the server, switch, firewall and backup device live. It should be off the floor, away from plumbing walls, windows and roof penetrations, and in a location that does not flood. For a new office, choose it at design stage. See Florida de-novo IT build-out checklist.

2. The copy. An encrypted, off-site backup that has been restore-tested. If the office is damaged or inaccessible, the backup is the practice. See Cloud backup that is actually HIPAA-shaped.

3. The circuit. Power and internet. A UPS bridges short outages and allows clean shutdown, but it is not a generator. A secondary internet connection (a different provider or a cellular failover) is the difference between working remotely and not working.

What should be done before a storm?

  • Confirm the latest backup completed and is off-site.
  • Document the shutdown order and who performs it (typically workstations first, then the server, then network gear).
  • Shut down and unplug equipment if the office will be left; raise equipment off the floor; protect with plastic if water intrusion is likely.
  • Take a photo-documented inventory for insurance.
  • Forward the main phone line to a monitored number and prepare a patient communication.
  • Confirm remote-access options for the owner and office manager.
  • Verify who has the HelpDesk number: (954) 639-7049.

What should be done after a storm?

  1. Do not power on equipment that got wet, even if it looks dry. Water and power destroy hardware and can damage data.
  2. Check the building for safety first, then power quality; use surge protection when restoring power, since surges on restoration are common.
  3. Bring systems up in a defined order, with the engineer verifying database and imaging integrity before staff use them.
  4. Verify backups are still running.
  5. Document damage and costs.
  6. If the office is unusable, restore to temporary hardware or a cloud environment from backup.

How does HIPAA connect to storms?

The Security Rule's contingency plan requires a data backup plan, disaster recovery plan and emergency mode operation plan, the ability to protect ePHI and continue critical operations during an emergency. A hurricane procedure is exactly that, written down and tested. HHS publishes emergency-preparedness guidance on HIPAA in disasters. See HIPAA for dental offices, in plain English.

What should be tested every year?

A tabletop run-through before June, a restore from backup, a UPS runtime check, and a call to confirm the failover internet actually works. On CyberDental's Ultimate plan, backup verification and disaster-recovery testing are part of the service. See Remote, Priority, Ultimate, Concierge.

Frequently asked questions

When is hurricane season in Florida?

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.

What should a dental practice do with its server before a hurricane?

Confirm a recent off-site backup, shut down in a documented order, unplug and elevate equipment, and protect it from water. Do not leave the server running if the office will be unattended and at risk.

Can I turn on a computer that got wet in a storm?

No. Do not power on wet equipment. Have it assessed first; powering it can cause further damage and data loss.

Sources and further reading

Related in the Journal

About CyberDental

CyberDental Group LLC is a dental-exclusive managed IT and cybersecurity provider headquartered in Hialeah, Florida. Founded in 2016 by Mr. Dimitri Lopez, it supports 1,000+ licensed dental practices, has completed 250+ dental office IT build-outs, and operates a dental-only HelpDesk. Plans are priced per location: Remote $350/month, Priority $650/month, Ultimate $1,200/month; Concierge is quoted for multi-location groups and DSOs. CyberDental signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with every practice it serves.

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