All Eyes on Sandy
No changes seen in University schedule; updates at 6 p.m.
Hurricane Sandy, the slow-moving storm that the media had billed as a once-in-a-lifetime event, is looking a little more common. Meteorologists warn that Boston should expect heavy rain, which will start Sunday night, and winds of 30 to 40 miles per hour, with gusts up to 60 miles per hour on Monday. The Massachusetts coastline is expected to experience winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour, with gusts up to 80 miles per hour.
Peter Fiedler, vice president for administrative services, says the University schedule will proceed as normal on Monday, with no cancellation of classes or other events.
“We are looking at a very windy and rainy day,” says Fiedler. “But at this time there is no reason to take additional precautionary measures other than those that we have put in place.”
Fiedler says the University’s Incident Command Team is conducting conference calls with experts at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service every six hours. He expects to have more information about possible cancellations at 6 p.m. Sunday. That information will be posted on BU Today.
Current precautionary measures include placing the University’s Hurricane Task Force on alert. The task force, made up of representatives from Housing, the Dean of Students, Facilities Management & Planning, BU Police, Human Resources, Parking Services, Dining Services, the Medical Campus, and Emergency Planning and Environmental Health & Safety, is monitoring the storm hour by hour and is ready to act in the event of cancellations, safety concerns, and disruptions to normal schedules.
The Boston University Police Department has put a Hurricane Incident Action Plan in place, and, if necessary, will issue emergency alerts using the BU Alert System. Those alerts are sent via an email blast and banners on the University’s homepage, BU Today, and the BU Emergency page.
BU Today will be the main point of contact throughout the storm. Students, faculty, and staff are urged to visit the site for any updates regarding cancellations, closings, and weather alerts.
Facilities preparations have included a check of all roofs, coordination with NStar, removal of loose materials and small trash barrels, and the rental of two large-capacity generators and two large-capacity portable pumps. Tree removal services are on standby.
Students are urged to make sure that they have flashlights and extra batteries on hand and are warned not to use candles, which are prohibited in student residences. For those who live in campus residences, RAs will have a limited number of flashlights. Students living off-campus are urged to buy flashlights and additional batteries. Emergency officials also urge people to have adequate supplies of food and water on hand, as well as essential medicines and a change of clothing. More information about hurricane preparedness is here.
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