As Hurricane Isabel slowly approaches the Eastern seaboard, University administrators are considering their response to the purported threat. The most extensive of preparations could be the evacuation of all students and staff from the Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, N.C.
However, experts are still uncertain where Isabel will hit. Predicted targets range from Charleston, S.C. to New York City.
"Right now there is a significant chance that it could hit Durham," said Orrin Pilkey, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Geology. "Predictions made at this stage of the game are very tenuous at best."
Mike Orbach, director of the Marine Lab, will announce today at noon what precautions Beaufort will take.
"If we go to an official hurricane warning, we have to evacuate the island," Orbach said. He added that some measures have already been taken, including taking some small boats out of the water and boarding windows.
Although Beaufort officials have yet to decide whether to evacuate, Hyde County officials gave mandatory evacuation orders Monday to an estimated 3,000 Ocracoke Island residents and tourists. Orbach said Beaufort students will be housed in dorms and given an interim food plan if evacuation is necessary.
On-campus administrators are also beginning to take precautions, as the hurricane poses a significant threat to campus, particularly with the possibility of falling trees and limbs.
"The potential for damage on our campus is large," Pilkey said, adding that the oak trees on East Campus were more likely to have problems than those trees on West Campus.
Major Robert Dean, director of communications for the Duke Police Department, said Duke Police is on full alert.
"We want the community to be aware that the storm is headed in our direction," Dean said. "We are prepared to handle any emergencies."
The office of Executive Vice President Tallman Trask, said he will be attending meetings today and tomorrow to discuss measures the University will take to deal with the hurricane. Trask could not be reached for comment.
"I assume the University has prepared for this sort of thing and has extra supplies of water and will make arrangements for food," Pilkey said. "When you have 10,000 people standing there to be fed, you have to have something."
Duke has weathered one major hurricane in the recent past--Hurricane Fran in September 1996 during which students danced in the quad, Pilkey added.
Beaufort has not been evacuated since the fall of 1999, when the labs were struck by three different hurricanes.
Pilkey advised students to stay out of the quad this time around, if
the winds are strong. "I suppose if my children were there I'd be telling them to get some water and maybe a little bit of food," Pilkey said. "But I know my kids wouldn't pay attention to that."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.