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Duke Poised To Respond To Irene's Impacts

Hurricane Irene expected to hit North Carolina coast Saturday

In this NASA Earth Observatory image acquired Thursday, Aug. 25, “bands of thunderstorms spiral tightly around a dense center, forming the circular shape of a well-developed hurricane,” according to the NASA Earth Observatory website. Photo from NASA
In this NASA Earth Observatory image acquired Thursday, Aug. 25, “bands of thunderstorms spiral tightly around a dense center, forming the circular shape of a well-developed hurricane,” according to the NASA Earth Observatory website. Photo from NASA Earth Observatory.
Leanora Minai

From staging wet vacuums to topping off emergency generators
with fuel, Duke is poised to respond to Hurricane Irene, now expected to make
landfall Saturday on the North Carolina coast. 

Since Tuesday afternoon, Duke operational units have been in
close, daily coordination across campus, "planning for the worst and hoping for
the best," Kyle Cavanaugh, Duke's emergency coordinator and vice president for
administration, said Friday.

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Due to the current forecast on the coast, all students and staff
at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, about 180 miles from Duke's campus in
Durham, have departed and will not return on site until the "all clear" is
given by safety officials. Beaufort is now under a hurricane warning.

The National Weather Service on Friday issued a "wind
advisory" in Durham and Raleigh from 6 a.m. Saturday to midnight. The latest forecast
for Durham calls for two to five inches of rain on Saturday with winds at 20 to
30 mph and gusts to 55 mph. Peak winds are expected between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Saturday.

"There have been enormous efforts across the entire Duke
system in anticipation of the storm," Cavanaugh said. "As part of our
preparations, we have held daily conference calls with the Severe Weather
Operations Team, which includes representatives from each of the operational
units ranging from police to facilities." 

Duke is not currently expecting to activate the severe
weather and emergency conditions policy this weekend, and campus activities
and events are scheduled to proceed as planned. However, updates will be made
through Duke's emergency website and communication channels, if
conditions warrant.

Cavanaugh said police and medical personnel, as well as
facilities and grounds crews, will be on-site and on-call during the weekend to
respond to emergencies, as needed. Duke community members are encouraged to
report flooding or property damage immediately to the appropriate maintenance
unit: Facilities
for the university campus, and Engineering
& Operations for Duke Hospital and the School of Medicine.

Any potential safety-related issues, such as downed trees or
power lines, should be reported to the Duke University Police Department, (919)
684-2444. Unless a situation is life threatening, crews may wait until after
dangerous winds have subsided before responding.

Undergraduate
students whose travel plans and campus arrival may be affected by the storm are
asked to contact Student Affairs. West Campus residents should write rlhs-west@studentaffairs.duke.edu;
Central Campus residents, rlhs-central@studentaffairs.duke.edu. 

If
conditions prevent arrival before Monday, students are asked to email Student Affairs and their deans.
Graduate and professional students should alert their schools as well if they
have trouble getting to campus in time for classes.

Updates about Hurricane Irene will be posted on Duke Today. If conditions change
or worsen and Duke's severe weather policy is activated, updates will be made
through Duke's emergency website and communications channels.