Tropical Storm Hanna updates
Anna Martin, vice president for administration and chair of the William and Mary Emergency Management Team has put out the following messages to faculty, staff and students regarding Tropical Storm Hanna. —Ed.
Sept. 6, 2008, 5 a.m.
There is a tornado watch in effect for our area until 1:00 pm today. If you hear the College siren during this period, take shelter in the lowest level of your building.
Sept. 5, 2008 11:15 a.m.
Faculty, Staff and Students,
This morning's update will be short. The predictions for Hanna remain similar to those of yesterday afternoon. At this time we expect heavy rain throughout the day on Saturday with winds gusting to 40 mph. Given our current understanding, we will leave to the discretion of individual organizations whether to cancel an event scheduled for tomorrow.
The library will be open tomorrow from 10:00 to 6:00 pm. In the event of a power outage causing Swem to close, notices will be posted on the library website and at the front door.
Once again, if the College loses power, the Commons will continue to operate. Bus service will continue until winds gust above 40 mph and/or significant amounts debris block the roadways.
Please stay alert to changing conditions. Remember to backup your data, shut down equipment and charge your cell phone before the storm hits.
If needed, there will be a final update late this afternoon. Be safe.
Anna Martin
Sept. 4, 2008
To Faculty, Staff and Students,
Tropical Storm Hanna is predicted to arrive in Williamsburg on Saturday morning. Rains will begin Friday evening and will likely continue through late Saturday afternoon. The College will remain open tomorrow, Friday, September 5 and classes will be held as scheduled.
The current forecast is for 2-4 inches of rain on Saturday with winds gusting to 40 mph. There is a strong possibility we will lose power during this period.
Students
The College will remain open. In the event the College loses power residence halls are equipped with emergency lighting. Food service will be provided in the Commons. Those students not on a meal plan may purchase food there. Bus Service will continue until wind gusts reach 40 mph or debris blocks the roads. You may store your bicycle in your room. Be sure to back up your computer data and consider turning off your computer when the storm is passing through.
Faculty and Staff
Facilities Management will begin to secure loose equipment and clear debris that could cause flooding. All generators are being prepared for operation if needed. For those of you with radio systems, please be sure they are charged. We are asking that before leaving the campus on Friday all faculty and staff be sure to save their files and shut down as much equipment as possible.
Events
We plan to make the determination tomorrow morning as to whether we will need to cancel all events scheduled for Saturday. However, in light of current information we ask you to consider cancelling your events, particularly those that will bring large groups to campus.
Communications
The College's Emergency Operations Center will be staffed on Saturday. If necessary, we will use the mass notification system to disseminate urgent information. We have backup manual systems in place to communicate messages if cell phone and email systems also fail.
Hurricane Ike
Lagging a few days behind Hanna is Hurricane Ike, a much stronger storm. We will continue to monitor Ike throughout the weekend to determine whether additional steps should be taken for your safety and for the operation of the campus.
What's next?
We will continue to monitor Hannah and continue to update you on changing conditions. In the meantime, please think about the essentials you will need over the next several days such as medicines and other personal items. Our next communication will be tomorrow morning.
Stay safe and take care of each other.
