With the worst of the tropical weather season still ahead, FAU is preparing for bad storms by maintaining a constant state of readiness
FAU is planning ahead in the event tropical weather should hit any of its campuses, according to Wayne Landowski, director of environmental health and safety.
FAU watches the weather and maintains contact with county emergency managers so that when a storm is spotted, preparations can be made in the days before the storm hits. This will make hurricanes easier to prepare for than other potential natural disasters.
As tropical storms approach, FAU’s president and vice president meet with advisors to determine whether the storm will affect operations.
When a hurricane watch is issued, FAU begins to implement its hurricane procedures by having each department initiate its own specific preparations. For example, the physical plant division begins its preparations by combing the campus looking for debris, such as coconuts and fallen tree limbs, that could turn into missiles in strong wind.
Under a hurricane warning, the president and vice president would decide whether to close the university, based on consultation with the board of trustees and the emergency managers, Landowski said.
If the hurricane is only a Category One, such as Hurricane Irene several years ago, students will be allowed to remain on campus, but classes will be cancelled if flooding makes transportation difficult.
If a storm is a Category Two or greater, then students and staff will have to be evacuated, since the buildings are not hardened against storms – meaning that they are not hurricane-proof according to post-Hurricane Andrew Florida building codes. Resident students would have to go to the local Red Cross shelter in the event of a campus evacuation.
The new College of Business will be the first of the new buildings constructed that will be hurricane-proof, since the state’s strict building-code changes made in 1994, according to Landowski. Eventually, FAU plans to build a hurricane shelter on campus for residents.
Traditionally the state has set the boundary for hurricane shelters at I-95, with no shelters east of the highway. A new laser surfound FAU to be 12 feet above sea level, and in no real danger of damage from a storm surge. The building of hurricane shelters has been encouraged.
If a severe hurricane, such as a Category Four storm, were to threaten FAU, then FAU leaders would have to take the lead in preparations from the local government agencies, which would entail large-scale evacuations of the whole area. Fortunately, the risk of a severe storm is extremely low, with Category One and Two storms a much bigger threat.
Statistically, a Category One hurricane comes within 100 nautical miles of FAU once every 3.1 years, and a Category Two hurricane every 5.3 years. Category Four storms only pass within 100 nautical miles every 202 years.
The Department of Environmental Health and Safety has a continually growing plan of emergency preparations for not only hurricanes, but for any type of dangerous situation, natural or otherwise.
Landowski has continued to upgrade his emergency plans, and feels that by writing the emergency plan from within FAU, he can provide a better guide to dealing with critical situations. Each year the plans get better, he said.
The Emergency Operations Center is the nerve center for conducting emergency planning for all of FAU’s departments. It is a place where the emergency planners and administrative officials can work together to come up with a plan of action incorporating all aspects of the university’s operations. The EOC is connected to the outside world via battery operated radios, telephones, Internet, and even HAM radio. In the event that all power and normal communication is disrupted, FAU can still maintain communication with the outside world via the HAM radio.
Landowski advises students and faculty to visit the FAU website and click on the emergency info tab on the home page in the event FAU is threatened by an approaching hurricane.
The website is full of information on how to deal with emergency situations, and is constantly updated so users are kept up-to-date with the latest critical information.
