TIGER TV ONLINE REPORTER
As the 2009 hurricane season rolls ahead, LSU Police Department begins preparations to keep the University’s community safe.
“Hurricane preparedness when there’s not an imminent threat is essential to safety,” said Kevin Scott of LSUPD and member of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) core committee.
The EOC core committee was formed after Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana in 2005, Scott said. The committee is comprised of various members from different campus units such as LSUPD, University Relations, Campus Safety and Resident Life.
Scott also served as the incident commander of shelter operations at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and the Huey P. Long Field House during 2008’s Hurricane Gustav.
Hurricane Gustav hit the University’s campus on September 1, 2008. Power was out, trees fell, roads were blocked, and many students’ cars were damaged. Winds also ripped off parts of the Carl Maddox Field House and Natatorium’s roofs.
Gustav was a category 2 hurricane when it hit Louisiana.
“It was real dark the whole time and there was tons and tons of wind and trees cracking everywhere,” said Alec Devall, a mass communications junior who stayed in Central, La. during the hurricane. Central is located right outside of Baton Rouge.
Devall’s family was lucky. Trees fell through some of the homes in the neighborhood, but Gustav only damaged his family’s land.
Marc Fernandez, a psychology senior, stayed at Baton Rouge’s Crisis Intervention Center during the hurricane.
“We were answering phone calls for people who wanted to know where to get resources,” he said.
Scott said the University provides great resources like the Campus Safety and Health Web site, www.lsu.edu/safety, and recommends signing up for the University’s emergency text messaging alerts through PAWS. Also, a hurricane game plan, which can be found on a www.getagameplan.org, is also an available resource.
“Truly the best defenses are offense,” he said. “Preparedness education is critical.”
In accordance with the Weather Research Center’s (WRC) 2009 Hurricane Season forecast that states Louisiana has a 70 % chance of a tropical storm or hurricane making landfall, the EOC meets biweekly to discuss hurricane safety, Scott said.
“So far so good, but the Gulf weather patterns are very unpredictable,” he said.
Scott said the police department didn’t make any significant differences in the 2009 safety plan when compared to their hurricane response in 2008.
“Through our planning efforts, the police department and the University as a whole were well poised for the impact of a hurricane or any hazard,” he said in reference to Gustav.
But the WRC stated in a March 16 press release that “the 2009 Hurricane Season is not a good one for the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf coast from Louisiana to Alabama.”
The report stated that three hurricanes will make land fall. The WRC’s Orbital Cyclone Strike Index predicts a 50% chance that the hurricanes will be Category 3 or higher.
Though Gustav hit Baton Rouge harder than any previous hurricane, Devall and Fernadez said they would stay in the Baton Rouge area this year as well.
“I plan on staying unless there’s an evacuation,” Fernandez said.
Devall said hurricanes are becoming a routine for him.
“I’m 21 and this is the fifteen hurricane I’ve probably been through,” he said. “It’s routine. Now we know the power goes out so you get everything ready the night before.”
