Meteorologists, city officials and university administrators all agree: Isabel’s coming, and she’s packing a punch. Enough punch, it seems, for the University to close Thursday to accommodate commuting faculty and staff.
According to the Weather Channel, the hurricane is predicted to bring gale force winds and heavy rains by Friday afternoon. Before the actual storm, however, Georgetown students dealt with another kind of tempest: a downpour of discussion and rumors about Isabel, followed up with a sprinkling of suggestions on how to stay safe during the storm.
A Sept. 16 broadcast e-mail sent out by Senior Vice President Spiros Dimolitsas included a link to preparedness.georgetown.edu, where there are instructions to close windows, move lightweight outdoor furniture inside and have a trash can or large container available in case of roof leakage.
The website also reminds students to safeguard their class assignments by moving computers and electronics away from windows. It also recommends that all files be saved on a disk to avoid losing documents in the event that personal computers suffer damage from the storm.
Not all Georgetown students are concerned about the potential damage that Isabel threatens to cause. Some are excited about the storm, eagerly anticipating the benefits of cancelled classes.
“I’m going to go outside and enjoy it,” said Matt Farrell (MSB ‘07). Caitlin McQuilling (SFS ‘07) and Natalie Watson (CAS ‘07) also planned to make use of their day off. “We’re buying Jell-O,” McQuilling said.
However, cancelled classes are not only a reason for excitement. “It makes me think [the hurricane] is more intense than I had originally thought,” said Dan Hare (CAS ‘05) .
Georgetown is not expected to be hit as hard as some other locations along the Eastern seaboard. Students at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. were evacuated from their campus early in the week.
Neither Georgetown nor any other D.C. area universities are evacuating, however. Following the shutdown of the federal government, American University, Catholic University and Trinity College will be also closed Thursday. D.C. public schools will be closed on Friday as well.
Some are preparing for the storm by stocking up on supplies. “I hope it’s going to weaken, but at the same time I’m heading to Safeway just in case, for canned goods, flashlight batteries and duct tape,” said Matt Huot (CAS ‘06), who planned to gather his provisions days before the hurricane was expected to arrive.
Previous hurricanes have done a great deal of damage in Washington. According to the Emergency Management Agency for the District of Columbia, Hurricane Juan in November 1985 wreaked $122 million worth of damage in the D.C. area. A 1996 hurricane, Fran, downed power lines and caused brutal floods to ravage the southwest quadrant of the city.
Though Georgetown officials are unable to predict just how much damage Isabel will generate, Campus Activities Facilities is bracing for the worst. Sandbags will be placed in low-lying areas and potential debris-such as signs and large unsecured objects-will be removed.
Those students who live off-campus may want to move their vehicles away from trees and poor draining areas, according to Bataille. In the event that the hurricane damages an off-campus residence, Bataille urges students to talk with landlords and contact the Office of Off-Campus Student Life .
