We thought it might be useful to provide additional information about the activity this weekend to help ensure the safety of students and other members of the Duke community, most of which was included in an article posted on Duke Today on Sunday following the storm.
Throughout the day Saturday, we were monitoring the situation closely and were in regular contact with leaders from campus, facilities, the health system, police, communication and student affairs. We were prepared to launch communication in the event the storm threatened the campus.
If the tornado watch for Durham had been upgraded to a tornado warning, the DukeALERT emergency notification system would have been immediately activated to direct people to take shelter.
Duke’s outdoor warning system was also tested about 3:30 p.m. Saturday before the storm arrived in Durham. Given the power outages that were being reported in other communities, the sirens and a test message were activated to ensure everything was working properly in case it was needed.
During the day, Duke University police were in constant communication with a subscription weather service that provided us specific information concerning the track of the storm and any tornadic activity in the area.
Precautionary plans began as early as Friday as Athletics moved to reschedule a men’s lacrosse game against Virginia Saturday for earlier in the day to avoid the incoming storm.
Duke University Hospital was also on alert after the storm in preparation to receive large volumes of patients from several small regional hospitals.
We were fortunate that Duke and Durham were not directly impacted by the storm, but we were prepared to warn the community had there been an imminent threat of danger.
Kyle Cavanaugh
Emergency Coordinator and
Vice President for Human Resources
Larry Moneta
Vice President for Student Affairs
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