The University's Core Crisis Team, composed of administrators who convene to plan responses to emergencies, met Wednesday to review Brown's hurricane plan in preparation for Hurricane Earl.
"Although it is still too early to have any degree of certainty about the hurricane's track and intensity when it reaches New England, a tropical storm watch has been issued for Rhode Island and current forecasts call for heavy rainfall and high winds on Friday into Saturday," Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn wrote in an e-mail to the student body Thursday morning.
Russell Carey '91 MA'06, senior vice president for Corporation affairs and governance and chief risk officer, who leads the Core Crisis Team, said he sent out a similar e-mail Wednesday evening to faculty and staff.
Though Carey said the University will follow Brown's existing 15-page hurricane plan very closely, the team is paying special attention to the possibility of needing to reschedule or relocate orientation events planned for the first weekend of the school year.
Carey also cautioned students wishing to travel this weekend. Klawunn's e-mail warned of potentially dangerous beach conditions including rough surf, beach erosion and rip currents.
Carey said precautions already put in place include generators at vital locations such as the Sharpe Refectory and food and water supplies around campus. Facilities Management has also been securing construction sites to protect from damaging winds.
Given forecasts predicting that Earl will weaken, the University does not anticipate instructing those on campus to take shelter, but does have plans for emergency shelters if the need arises, Carey wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
Carey's first tip was to pay attention.
"If something really big happens, we can use the emergency communication system," Carey said. "But one of the most important things people can do is pay attention to how the storm is progressing."
Klawunn also urged students to make sure they have accurate emergency contact information in Brown's electronic directory and to let somebody know if they intend to go away from campus so they can be accounted for in the case of an emergency. Closing windows, including storm windows, can protect against water damage in driving rains. Regarding off-campus plans for the long weekend, Klawunn urged students to "use common sense."
