As a 500-mile wide hurricane stormed its way along the East Coast, University members and Charlottesville residents braced themselves to weather Floyd's fury.
A Category 3 storm, Floyd is expected to deliver an abundance of rain and wind all along the seaboard and inland. Although the National Hurricane Center predicts that Floyd will weaken to a Category 1 storm by the time it hits Virginia today, city and University officials are preparing for the worst.
"We want students to take this storm very, very seriously," University Fire Safety Officer Tim Ritchey said.
Students, staff and faculty members were informed via e-mail of the University's safety recommendations for storm safety, including securing bicycles and lawn furniture and avoiding driving.
Several officials said classes are unlikely to be cancelled, but the University will follow the storm's advance closely in case it becomes too dangerous to hold class.
University facilities management worked yesterday to clean drains that might cause flooding, trim tree limbs that could break and secure construction sites around Grounds so debris will not fly away. Emergency generators have been checked and tapped with fuel.
Safety officials met with Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief financial officer, yesterday to go over contingency plans.
"At this point, we are not expected to bear the brunt of the storm, so we're more or less in a precautionary mode right now, waiting to see what will happen," University Police Captain Michael Coleman said.
"What could be the biggest problem is if we have a lot of power outages," Ritchey said.
Virginia Electric Power Company is readying for the possibility, but this area cannot be expected to be a priority for VEPCO if other parts of Virginia are harder hit, he said.
If power does go out, students should not light candles in their dorm rooms or other University buildings because of a fire hazard, Coleman said.
The University also worked closely with the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County to prepare.
"The fire department has added equipment to engine companies, swifter water rescue equipment, chainsaws and more personnel," said David Hartman, Charlottesville Fire Department battalion captain.
Public schools across Virginia are closed today, including those in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
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