On Sunday, power was temporarily shut down at an Amazon data center in the UAE, after it was “impacted by objects that struck the data center.” There were reports of “fire and sparks” at the facility, as the escalation of violence in the Middle East raised concerns over the safety of the region’s thriving digital infrastructure landscape.
After the US and Israel declared war on Iran last weekend, bombing Tehran, and Iran launched retaliatory drone strikes against multiple cities in countries that identify as US allies across the region, the cloud and data center industry has been on tenterhooks, worried about the fate of one of the most vibrant hubs of business, finance, and technology. There are fears now that the conflict may have already started affecting data centers.
However, it is important to note that AWS has not officially attributed the fire to drone strikes or falling missile debris from such strikes, using the neutral word “objects” to describe what struck the data center.
AWS told Reuters, “At around 4:30 AM PST, one of our Availability Zones (mec1-az2) was impacted by objects that struck the data center, creating sparks and fire.”
More details about the fate of the data center are awaited.
Meanwhile, in the UAE alone, there were reports of strikes launched at airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as explosions at well known landmarks such as The Burj Khalifa, The Fairmont Hotel, and Jabel Ali port. Manama in Bahrain, and Doha in Qatar, also reported strikes.
This story will be updated, when we have more information.