Preparing for Hurricane Florence

TO:  Vice Presidents, Vice Provosts, Deans, Directors, Department Heads, and Managers
FROM:  Kyle Cavanaugh, Vice President for Administration, Emergency Coordinator
RE: Preparing for Hurricane Florence

We are monitoring forecasts related to the path of Hurricane Florence and are preparing for heavy rain and winds later in the week. 

The National Weather Service currently projects the path of the hurricane to make landfall on the southern North Carolina coast as a major hurricane late Thursday. The hurricane will likely bring strong winds and prolonged heavy rainfall for central and eastern North Carolina with the potential for flooding.

Our colleagues at the Marine Lab are meeting today to assess the latest models for the projected path and impact along the coast. They will be evaluating possible impacts on operations, including classes.

Operational units have been preparing through the weekend, including communication and coordination with Duke Energy, and ensuring there is sufficient fuel for buses and vehicles, if deliveries are impacted. Duke is not currently expecting to activate the severe weather and emergency conditions policy, but he encouraged faculty, staff and students to monitor Duke Today and other communication channels as conditions change this week.

Given the possibility of severe weather conditions, employees are encouraged to review Duke's severe weather and emergency conditions policy to ensure they understand what to do if the policy is activated.

During times of severe weather, some staff positions require on-site presence to continue operations. To ensure continuous operations of patient care, student support and research functions, managers should assign all jobs to one of three service categories:

• Essential Service: During severe weather or emergency conditions, essential service staff report or remain at work. 
• Reserve Service: During severe weather or emergency conditions, reserve service staff are assigned a status at the time of the event.
• Delayed Service: During severe weather or emergency conditions, delayed service staff do not report to or remain at work.

If the severe weather policy is activated, the announcement will be made through the various DukeALERT channels, including email, text message, and Duke's emergency website. A message also will be recorded on the severe weather/emergency conditions telephone line at 684-INFO (4636).

For more information about the current status of the hurricane and Duke’s preparations, please monitor the Duke Today website.