<p>The "U" is in full prep mode for Hurricane Rita. Classes are cancelled starting at noon today through tommorrow. Preparations are being made. </p>
<p>Any more news I hear I'll pass along--please do same if you hear anything more! Thanks!</p>
<p>Good luck all and be safe. We always think of you as being in paradise but today it is not to be that way. Hopefully this will not be too bad.</p>
<p>What type of evacuation/safety guidelines does Miami have? What are your s/d's doing as a hurricane approaches?</p>
<p>Here is a link to the instructions the students received.</p>
<p>We have found that the school takes the kids' safety very seriously. There was some feeling that they didn't cancel classes early enough for Katrina, which is why they canceled yesterday at noon - well before the storm was due to hit.</p>
<p>So are students expected to stay in shelters or evacuate on their own expense? I'm guessing building up friendships would come in handy, and you could take a mini vacation.</p>
<p>Word is good from campus. Very little wind and rain. Not near as bad as Katrina was when she went through a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>Students who live on campus are put on lock-down. In other words, their confined to their dorms. Standford/Hecht have storm shutters and are built to withstand unless I remember incorrectly Cat IV storms. Eaton and Mahoney/Pierson are not as strong, so in case of a major storm those students would be moved to a different shelter on campus.<br>
During lock down it can either be a party atmosphere or a serious one depending on the severity of the storm. Last year when Francis or Jeanne was coming in (sorry...too many last year to remember which one) it was a very serious situation and UM didn't tolerate much. The kids were moved out into the hallways for a few hours in case of any blown windows. There was no additional expense and I know my son said they fed them well, and had supplies enough for every student enough to last over a week. UM has their own power supply (generators) so that even when power in the Gables is down, they can still function. </p>
<p>If you live off campus, I believe you would need to make your own arrangements. The thing to remember when you do decide to evacuate is be sure to not evacuate into the path of the storm. And unfortunately in FL there's basically only one way to go....North. Because going West from Miami doesn't necessarily mean much if the storm goes right accross the pennisula. Take Charley last year for example. Debris strung from one end of the state to the other from coast to coast. Punta Gorda to Daytona, and pretty much everywhere in between. </p>
<p>I don't mean to scare you, but if you do decide to go to UM, do yourself a favor--learn about hurricane prep, and listen to the RA's and DA's in the dorms. They are trained on what to do and how to handle the situation.</p>
<p>This is the hurricane Texas did not want to see coming at us right now. No hurricane this big has hit the Houston/Galveston area since the hurricane of 1900 that killed 6000-12000 people. Gov. Perry and others are on the ball, Tx is prepared for this. The last I heard before leaving work at 3pm 09/20 was that Gov Perry will probably issue a Proclamation of Imminent Disaster on Wednesday (or maybe Thursday), he has also recalled the Tx National Guard from LA, they may already be back as I write this. </p>
<p>Authorities are projecting possible catastrophic flooding from Galveston on into the hill country of Central Texas. Galveston is under mandatory evacuations already and everyone is being sent to Hunstville or Bryan/College Station or other locations north of Houston. </p>
<p>Everyone please check your evacuation routes that are based on where you are evacuating from. All of the local news stations have this info on their websites. </p>
<p>Katrina evacuees still in Houston's major relief centers are being taken to Arkansas. I too feel for these people that must go through this again. It is best at this time to pay close attention to weather and news reports. Anyone in voluntary or mandatory evacuation areas should err on the side of caution and evacuate as calmy and quickly as possible. </p>
<p>The storm surge alone will cause major problems in the Houston area. A 4 foot storm surge will cover most of Galveston Island, 4-6 feet will also cover Texas City, Hancock,and Santa Fe, while the worst case scenario of 22.8 feet will cover everything from Alvin to Friendswood to large portions of Baytown, basically almost everything from south nad east beltway 8 to the coast and into downtown, or approx 600,000 homes. Any storm surge can also push water up into the bayous that normally drain water away from Houston into the Gulf. </p>
<p>And this doesn't include rainfall. Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston in 3 seperate events and dropped a total of 37 inches of rain on parts of Houston in 42-46 hours. In some areas IH-10 and other major roadways were 26-30 feet under water, even semi tractor trailer rigs were floating. and she was just a tropical storm. </p>
<p>Estimates are that Houston could be without electricity for 4-5 days and water for several days. Our crews are still helping out in LA and MS. Some recommedatiosn are for everyone to get at least 12 miles from the coast if not farther. Schools in some areas are already closed, and school buses will be evacuating those that need that assistance from several intermediate schools in Galveston starting Wednesday. </p>
<p>Hospitals in the medical center all made major improvements to protect themselves from flooding after Allison, but this is a whole new ballgame, we'll have to see if the improvements hold up to Rita. </p>
<p>Good Luck to everyone in Houston and the Southeast Gulf Coast.</p>