Hurricane Dorian
Sam Jones, chair of the W&M Emergency Management Team, sent the following messages to the campus community in September 2019. - Ed.
Campus Reopens Saturday
September 6, 2019, 4:41 pm
Dear William & Mary community,
Hurricane Dorian has moved offshore, and the William & Mary campus experienced relatively little impact from the storm.
The university will reopen at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Dining and other campus services will return to regular hours.
Thanks to all those who helped prepare for the storm and provided support throughout it.
Sam Jones, chair
W&M Emergency Management Team
Hurricane Dorian Closure
September 5, 2019, 2:06 pm
Due to Hurricane Dorian, the Williamsburg area is currently under a tropical storm warning and is expected to experience sustained winds of about 30-40 mph, wind gusts up to 55 mph and 2 to 6 inches of rain late Thursday through Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Because of the potential impact of the storm, including possible power outages, William & Mary will close at 7 p.m. Thursday and remain closed through Friday. All classes and activities are canceled. Essential personnel should check with their supervisors.
The university is expected to open again at 8 a.m. Saturday morning. The W&M Emergency Management Team will monitor conditions on campus and notify the community should there be any changes to that plan.
Buildings:
All academic and administrative buildings, including Swem Library, will be closed and access restricted. For your safety, do not attempt to go into closed areas.
Facilities Management staff will be placing sandbags in flood-prone areas around campus. This may impede access to some entrance doors, so please use caution when entering and exiting buildings.
Residence Halls:
Residence halls will remain open. For their safety, students on campus are encouraged to remain indoors as much as possible and limit travel. Tips on preparing for possible power outages and other effects of the storm are available here: https://www.wm.edu/offices/residencelife/documents/hurricane.pdf
Off-Campus Students:
Please monitor your city’s or county’s emergency management channels for instructions and resources. A list of suggested emergency supplies is available here: https://bit.ly/1hn6yoZ
Dining Services:
All dining locations will close at 8 p.m. Thursday. On Friday, Sadler and Commons will be open for brunch and dinner, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. For Saturday, check the W&M Dining Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WMdining/
In the event of a campus-wide power outage, Dining Services will only operate out of Commons, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.
Athletics:
Several athletic events have been rescheduled due to the storm. The women's soccer team's match with High Point on Thursday in Williamsburg has been moved up to 4 p.m. The field hockey match originally scheduled for Friday between William & Mary and Old Dominion in Norfolk will now be played on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 5 p.m. The men's soccer match against Delaware, scheduled for Friday, was postponed until Oct. 22. If there are changes to other athletic events, they will be posted to https://tribeathletics.com/
Transportation:
The storm may also affect local road conditions and the operational status of local buses and/or the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry. For updates on the ferry, call 1-800-VA-Ferry/1-800-823-3779. For updates from the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority, visit gowata.org or https://twitter.com/goWATA_VA
Stay informed:
If you have not already done so, please enroll in the university's mass notification system in Banner personal service: https://personalinfo.wm.edu/
You may also receive updates via:
• W&M News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wmnews/
• W&M News on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/wmnews
• The W&M mobile app: https://www.wm.edu/mobileapps/
Hurricane Dorian is a dangerous storm. Although we do not expect to be in its direct path, we may still experience significant effects from it. Please take time to prepare.
Hurricane Dorian Update
September 3, 2019, 3:08 pm
The William & Mary Emergency Management Team continues to monitor the progress of Hurricane Dorian, which is currently located north of the Bahamas. The storm, now a category two, is expected to move along the East Coast, passing off shore of the southeast corner of Virginia late Thursday or Friday.
Although the track of Dorian is still uncertain, the Hampton Roads region may experience some effects of the storm, including sustained winds of about 30 mph, wind gusts up to 45 mph and 2 to 6 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
On Monday, the governor of Virginia declared a state of emergency so that the Commonwealth can prepare for the storm. We don’t anticipate the need to evacuate W&M, but we ask all members of the campus community to take precautions, including the following steps:
1) Department heads should move forward with necessary planning and preliminary steps within their department that may be needed for a possible hurricane event.
2) Please familiarize yourself with the numerous ways William & Mary has to communicate to the campus community during an emergency. In addition to the emergency notifications received through RAVE -- text, phone call, email, siren and Alertus (a notification to your computer screen) –- you may also receive notifications through the following:
• W&M News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wmnews/
• W&M News on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/wmnews
• The W&M mobile app: https://www.wm.edu/mobileapps/
3) If you have not yet enrolled in the university's mass notification system, you should immediately do so in Banner personal service: https://personalinfo.wm.edu/
4) Students living on campus should review these guidelines from Residence Life for storm and possible power outage preparations: https://www.wm.edu/offices/residencelife/documents/hurricane.pdf
• For students living off campus, please review this checklist: https://bit.ly/1hn6yoZ
5) Although we don’t anticipate evacuating campus, residential students should take this opportunity to review their personal Emergency Evacuation Plan. This should be on file in their Banner personal service account: https://personalinfo.wm.edu
William & Mary’s Emergency Management Team will continue to watch the storm closely and update the campus community as necessary.
Hurricane Dorian
Septmber 1, 2019, 9:05 am
Dear William & Mary community,
The Emergency Management Team is closely monitoring the status of Hurricane Dorian. As you may have seen in the news, this is a strong storm and is forecast to travel up the East Coast later this week. While the longer-term forecast for the storm is uncertain at this point, it is possible that the Virginia Peninsula may begin feeling the effects of the storm as early as Thursday, with heavy rains and possible wind gusts expected through the late week.
At this time, no warnings or watches have been issued for our area, but it is important to remember that the forecast may change significantly over the next few days. Certainly, if you have plans to travel south into the Carolinas later this week, please monitor the forecast closely and exercise caution.
The EMT will continue to monitor the progress of the storm and will update the campus community as necessary.
The EMT communicates emergency messages through the university’s mass notification system, RAVE. If you have not yet enrolled in that system, please do so through Banner self-service. You may also update your personal information through the free W&M mobile app (http://www.wm.edu/mobileapps/). In addition to campus email, text, landline and cell phone, you can also receive emergency messages by following the W&M News Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/wmnews) and W&M News Twitter (https://twitter.com/wmnews) pages as well as through the W&M mobile app.
Sam Jones, Chair
Emergency Management Team
