Post-Hurricane
Prior to Hurricane Dorian, our blog talked a lot about Hurricane Irma which definitely left Floridians on their toes. Hurricane Irma will be remembered not only for its strength but for its impact on the entire state of Florida causing damage and destruction on both the east and west coast. Having lived in South Florida for over 25 years and hearing meteorologists throw out words such as catastrophic, I naturally felt anxious and concerned as I watched their facial expressions and heard it in their voices as they described the latest tracks. Hurricane Dorian was no different in that regard.
When FSU to move the Saturday football game from Jacksonville to Tally, we knew they were taking the warnings seriously. Fortunately, they never needed to cancel classes, but at least this meant they were on top of things. For Irma, we were incredibly impressed by how quickly FSU responded and made decisions. At that time I double checked on the dorms and off-campus apartments to be sure they had hurricane impact windows and you will be happy to know that most complexes that the students live in off-campus at FSU are fairly new and do have hurricane impact windows.
In the midst of all the preparations, I tried to find just the right amount of urgency in my texts and responses so as to not scare them too much, but to take planning seriously. I encouraged them to get supplies early and reminded them that last time when stores were already out of things and we tried to overnight them via Amazon Prime – flashlight, batteries, and battery-operated candles – they arrived too late anyway. Perhaps we should include these items in the New Student Shopping Guide. Fortunately, they found water at a gas station since Publix was already out and filled the car with gas and parked it on the second floor of the garage in case of flooding on the ground floor. Armed with plenty of dry goods, they felt prepared. For Dorian, they didn’t need to go this far, but at least they knew how to be prepared and, of course, I continued to monitor the storm to stay abreast of its newest paths.
In the past, when classes had to be canceled, FSU has stated, and notified their staff, to be flexible when it comes to homework, assignments and so forth. They have shared with all students, and parents signed up to receive this information, places they can get help if they need it. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for emails and perhaps get into a Facebook group for FSU parents. Someone there always knows the answer. Being in Florida, we always have to stay alert to possible hurricanes. This time, our Noles actually got lucky and were able to stay in school and enjoy some football.
Additional information on FSU’s storm preparedness can be found below (go ahead and bookmark them in advance).
Florida State University Web pages
FSU Emergency Hotline
1-850- 644-INFO
Follow FSU Alert on Twitter or Facebook
If you want to receive a direct SMS text message, send a text message to 40404 saying “Follow FSUAlert”
National Weather Service Briefing Updates
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