Hurricane Florence has devastated the East Coast, with North Carolina, South Carolina and parts of Virginia experiencing intense rains, winds and flooding. The hurricane is expected to cause damage and economic loss between $38 billion and $50 billion, according to Fox Business.
Hurricane Florence barreled toward the East Coast, and resulted in the deaths of at least 42 people, mostly in North and South Carolina and two in Virginia, according to CBS News.
Before the hurricane made landfall on the East Coast, there were various issuances of mandatory evacuations in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, with over one million people expected to evacuate, according to USA Today.
Hurricane Florence changed paths numerous times. There were multiple cities and counties, such as Savannah, GA and Lowcountry, SC, that were expected to be in the pathway of the hurricane; however, the predictions of the storm’s path kept changing before it made landfall. Michael R. Godfrey, the Virginia Peninsula area director for Saint Leo Centers mentioned the impact of Hurricane Florence to the Virginia Saint Leo Community.
“We were closed here in Virginia; however, we did not get any real impact from Hurricane Florence. We barely received any rain. We closed based on early predictions, but the forecast had changed by Wednesday putting us virtually out of harm’s way [but with no certainties]. Fortunately, our area was spared any of the devastation that North and South Carolina experienced. We did have some of our staff [and I’m certain students]evacuate due to mandatory evacuations, but we all returned to our homes with no impacts to discuss,” said Godfrey.
Also, Karen Kwasny, an assistant professor of English, serving in the South Hampton Roads Education Centers, which are in Virginia, revealed the impact of the hurricane on the surrounding areas, as well.
“The storm did not impact the City of Virginia Beach to the degree anticipated or initially predicted. We received minimal rain and some strong winds; significant damages were not incurred in my area of the city. There was some wind damage to small trees — branches down, for instance. We did, however, experience some significant flooding to the southern watershed areas as a result of southeasterly winds following the storm pushing waters back into the bay,” stated Kwasny, Saint Leo faculty of 10 years.
She also mentioned the atmosphere of the city in anticipation of the hurricane hit.
“Early in the week, after the Governor issued a state of emergency and then ordered mandatory evacuations for parts of southeastern Virginia, the community of Virginia Beach was in a state of panic. Grocery store shelves were emptying out, water was in short supply by mid-week, as was propane and gas at the stations,” said Kwasny.
Along with parts of Virginia and part of South Carolina, there were also numerous parts of Georgia that expected a direct hit from the storm but were spared due to the hurricane changing paths. There were spurts of rain and wind; according to Stephanie Stinksi, director of the Savannah Centers, the storm changed tracks at the end of last week and closing the center was precaution due to the expectation of more effects, and the anticipation of the storm put the community on edge, although no evacuations were in place.
“The community was on high alert when Savannah was in the cone of uncertainty for Hurricane Florence. There was a lot of anxiety in regards to how Savannah would be affected and when we might expect to begin seeing the wind and rain, and potential flooding as Savannah floods frequently due to low lying areas and proximity to large bodies of water,” said Stinski. “The projected path of Hurricane Florence was frequently changing, which led to the community feeling uneasy and uncertain about whether or not to evacuate. The local emergency management agency continued to track the hurricane and decided to close local schools on Friday just for precaution, as Savannah was in the cone one day and out of the cone the next, only to be back in the cone the next day.”
Saint Leo’s priority was the safety of their faculty, staff and students and this is evident in the closing of certain centers in the pathway of Florence. Dr. Senese also sent messages to the Saint Leo community, where he mentioned that thoughts and prayers are with those students and faculty, alumni and friends that were going to be affected by the storm.
“We are praying for you, for your safety, and for the protection of you and yours against Hurricane Florence. We pray that you and your family, friends, and neighbors remain safe,” said Dr. Senese. “We pray with you for rapid passage of the storm and a return to peaceful weather, as well as a speedy recovery from any aftermath.”
The Centers strived to assist students and faculty before, during after the hurricane and faculty strived to accommodate students by extending deadlines. One of the centers that was in the pathway of the hurricane included the Chesapeake Education Center in Virginia.
According to Charlene Cofield, the associate director of the Chesapeake Education Center, the Center was able to prepare by moving objects away from the windows and unplugging electrical devices before the Center closed. Cofield also mentioned the response of the governor prior to the hurricane making landfall.
“The governor established the state of emergency and instituted the evacuation process. As a result, schools closed and various staff and faculty evacuated,” stated Cofield.
While the Center was closed, they were accessible to the students through email and Regroup, a system for sending text messages to students and faculty. Therefore, the Center was still able to provide the faculty and students with updates.
“People are our first priority. We always want to put personal safety first. As a result, we are always mindful to ensure that we cancel classes, if needed, within a timely manner as not to put students or staff in jeopardy,” said Cofield.
Other Centers expected to be hit by the hurricanes tried to accommodate students, including the Savannah Center. The Savannah Center stayed in continuous contact with students and faculty through Regroup, emails and text messages so that everyone was aware of when the center would be closed and when classes were canceled, according to Stinski.
“We assured our students and faculty that we were tracking the hurricane and local emergency management officials on how to proceed. We asked that our instructors work with any student that was impacted by the hurricane, as we do have students that live in South Carolina and were in evacuation zones, as well as local Savannah students that opted to evacuate,” said Stinksi. “Once the decision was made to cancel classes for Thursday night, Friday and Saturday we alerted all of our students and faculty so that they could have time to prepare their plans for the potential impact of the hurricane.”
During the hit of the hurricane, the Center maintained communication with the students.
“We continued to work with students that were impacted to ensure that they received the support that they needed during this time,” said Stinski.
The Savannah Center, along with the other Centers that closed, was reopened on the following Monday, Sept. 17. Stinski mentioned that her top priority right now is focused on students.
“To continue to track any impending weather conditions that may occur in the future and ensure that the safety of our students and faculty are of the utmost importance when making decisions concerning potential weather conditions,” said Stinksi.
The entire Saint Leo community is focusing on the safety of those connected to the university.
Centers Impacted
The following are the Centers that closed during the week of Sept. 11 due to Hurricane Florence:
Chesapeake Education Center
Fort Lee Education Center
Fort Eustis Education Center
Langley Education Center
Newport News Education Center
North Charleston Education Center
Savannah Education Center
Shaw Education Center & Sumter Office
South Hampton Education Centers(Little Creek, Norfolk, and Oceana)
