University closes in preparation for Hurricane Irma

Michelle Marchante/News Director

Classes are canceled as of 11 p.m. Tuesday night through the weekend for the university community to prepare for Irma, a category 5 hurricane.

Normal operations will resume Wednesday but the University will close Thursday, according to an email from External Relations, and all special events on campus, including the Saturday football game at FIU are canceled.

Irma is one of the largest and most powerful hurricanes in recorded history at 185 mph, according to Ruben Almaguer, assistant vice president of Disasters Management.

Irma is not expected to impact Florida directly until Sunday, according to the 8 p.m. model of The National Hurricane Center, but hurricane winds could be impacting South Florida as early as Friday.

While the university is trying to be proactive and is emphasizing “over-communication” with students, faculty and staff, students need to be prepared to be on their own for the next three to five days, Almaguer said.

Everyone should make sure they have nonperishable food, medicine and at least one gallon of water per person per day, he said. Purchasing extra is also recommended in case you need to help out a family member, friend or neighbor.

And while the university is currently working to make sure their buildings and off-campus sites are secured and ready for the storm, Almaguer suggests everyone should leave campus.

“We [the University] ask all students, including faculty, that have a place to go, to go home, go inland, go see a friend,” Almaguer said. “The University only wants to keep essential people, students and faculty on campus [at the Modesto Maidique campus] because it’s highly expected that we’ll be without power, no cell communication available, low on fuel to maintain generators…”

Those who have no choice but to stay on campus, such as international students, will be housed in one of the University’s “hardened” MMC housing facilities, Almaguer said, to “ride out the storm with us.”

Students living at Biscayne Bay’s Bayview whom cannot find an alternate “safe haven” must go to MMC for housing.

Food and water will be provided to those staying on campus, Almaguer said, but personal items such as bedding and clothing are the responsibility of the students.

“They’re going to be in a very uncomfortable situation sadly to say,” he said, “in hallways, in groups that are at least safe in numbers…but we definitely want to make sure they have plenty of food, water and bathrooms to make it through the storm.”

Students who live off campus, the email states, must either “shelter in place, go home or go to a Miami-Dade County shelter.”

The MMC’s recreation center, the email stated, will also serve as a special needs shelter for Monroe County evacuees starting Wednesday, but FIU will be not acting as a general population shelter.

For more information on hurricane safety, students should refer to websites such as hurricanes.gov, dem.fiu.edu or their county’s website.

Editor’s Note: At the time of this article’s publication, the Tuesday 8 p.m. model was the National Hurricane Center’s latest update. Please refer to their website for the most up-to-date forecast.

Featured image is a screenshot of The National Hurricane Center Forecast.