Hurricane Wilma came ashore at Cape Romano, Fla. on Oct. 24, 2005, at 6:30 a.m. as a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph. By 10:30 a.m., Hurricane Wilma entered Broward County with winds still in excess of 105 mph. The hurricane’s size affected a huge swath of Florida, from floods in Key West to tornadoes on the Space Coast of Central Florida.
It left 3.2 million homes and more than 6 million people without power. The storm killed 25 people during its 4.5 hour trek across the southern edge of the peninsula. It caused $17 million of damage in the city of Davie alone, including extensive damage to the famous hotel and golf course featured in the movie “Caddyshack,” now the site of the Rolling Hills graduate housing complex.
Classes at NSU were cancelled for a week; they were lucky. Florida Atlantic University’s classes in Boca Raton didn’t resume until Nov. 4 and the University of Miami canceled its final exam preparation week to avoid extending the semester into the winter break.
Hurricane Wilma was the fifth storm to hit South Florida between March 2004 and Oct. 2005.
Hurricane season runs roughly from June 1 to Nov. 30 and peaks in the months of August and September. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted this year to be especially active with up to 19 named storms and up to five major hurricanes — whose winds reach at least a sustained 111 mph.
No one can predict when or where these hurricanes will form or when or where they will make landfall, but with South Florida’s features — a flat, sub-tropical peninsula that separates the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico — it is a magnet for storms. Understanding the risks of living in South Florida, what to do if a hurricane hits, and what NSU’s policies are regarding campus closures and evacuation orders is the best defense against them.
Be prepared
Every South Florida resident should have a personal plan and emergency kit ready in case of a major storm. Whether you live at home, off campus or on campus, it is important to make sure you can take care of yourself and not wait for help from government agencies or the Red Cross. Jim Ewing, director of the Office of Public Safety, suggests downloading Max Mayfield’s hurricane tracking mobile app, Max Tracker.
“It’s really great,” Ewing said. “It has everything you need, including severe weather alerts.”
Ewing also suggests picking up a hurricane survival guide from Walgreens or Publix. In it, you will find checklists for all the items you will need in case your power and water are knocked out by a storm.
If you live in an evacuation zone or plan to escape the path of the hurricane, be sure to know where you are going early and leave as soon as possible. Aarika Camp, director of Residential Life and Housing, warned against waiting until the last minute.
“Don’t think you can just jump in your car and drive. Everyone else had the same idea, so a four-hour drive to Orlando turns into 12.”
Tropical storm
Residential students will be able to remain in their residence halls if and when a tropical storm is predicted to strick. Food and water will be provided by Chartwells. However, Camp also suggests you make sure to buy any essentials you might need before the storm hits.
“We will feed you, but it’s not going to be an eight-course meal,” she said.
All students should follow the National Hurricane Center’s survival guide, which can be found online at NHC.NOAA.com.
Hurricane
If Fort Lauderdale is in a storm’s path, Physical Plant staff from Facilities Management and other departments will begin making preparations at least 72 hours before a storm hits.
If you see staff boarding up windows or removing garbage cans and parking lift gats, Ewing suggests it is time to plan where you’re going to go.
Residential students will not be allowed to remain in their rooms. Once an evacuation order is issued by President George Hanbury, all students must vacate the premises.
Students leaving campus will fill out a Hurricane Contact Information Form so the school can stay in contact and update them on campus closures and when they can return to their residence halls. For those staying with friends, Camp said to make sure you bring everything you will need with you. This includes water, batteries, food and medicine.
“Your friend’s family will not take care of you the same way your own family will,” she said.
She also said those planning to stay with friends should make sure their parents or relatives are OK with it beforehand.
“We have a lot of students who thought they would be staying with friends, before finding out their friend’s parents didn’t want them to be there,” she said.
For those students unable to find their own shelter, NSU works with the Red Cross and will evacuate them to an off-campus shelter. These students will fill out an American Red Cross Shelter Registration Form and checklist before boarding a Shark Shuttle.
“We really want to help the students be ready to go in case we have to evacuate,” Camp said. “So when they arrive at the shelter, they are already pre-registered, get their room assignment and are totally prepared.”
According to Ewing, representatives from Public Safety will accompany students to the shelters and remain there in case they are needed by the students.
Both the Red Cross Registration Form and the Hurricane Contact Information Form will be handed out by resident assistants during building and floor meetings, which will begin at least 72 hours in advance of a storm landfall.
Camp warned against leaving a Red Cross shelter on your own before hearing any news.
“If you leave the Red Cross shelter of your own volition, you are on your own and no one knows what it’s going to be like out there,” she said.
To be re-admitted to the shelter, students will have to re-enter under the Red Cross and fill out additional forms.
Ewing said students should secure their valuables and bring anything they don’t want to lose to the shelter
“No one is going to break in and steal your stuff,” he said, “but you never know how bad these storms are going to be and what your dorm is going to look like when you get back.”
Finally, university policy prohibits parking your car in any of the garages before the storm. If you have a car and are afraid it will be damaged by the storm, find other means to get it out of the storm’s path.
“The biggest question we get every time is ‘Can I park my car in the garage?’” Ewings said. “The answer is no. We get a lot of people who live in the apartments around the campus who think they can park their car in the garage. All cars will be towed.”
In the event of a storm, alerts and updates will be available at the NSU Hotline at 800-256-5065 and at nova.edu/hurricane/index.html.
