Comment depends on how its built (Score 2) 214
If the data center is built with the correct architectural planning and resilience, then no it shouldn't affect it at all. these are the same centers that withstood the Earthquake and the horrendous storms recently. Granted that Amazon was a casualty of the storms, but there were so many other organizations that ran without a single hiccup. this is the reason yo want to load balance your service across geographically separate areas. its highly unlikely that a hurricane is nailing your east coast center the same time the Mississippi is flooding your mid west center and an earthquake takes out your west coast center. SOME users will be temporarily inconvenienced, but the service as a whole will be online.
the main things that relate to a data center staying operational:
1) will the building physically survive the incident. no brainer.
2) can power be maintained, including generator support. no brainer
3) can the telco connections stay active. no point in humming servers if a tree takes out your connection to the world.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/289607-data-centers-prove-earthquake-proof