Hurricane Sandy preparations

Oct. 28, 2012
2:09 p.m.

Brandeis Students, Faculty and Staff:

Gov. Deval Patrick has declared a State of Emergency for Massachusetts as part of the state's preparations for the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane is now expected to hit the coast of New Jersey south of New York City on Monday night.

It appears that Eastern Massachusetts and the Brandeis campus are likely to be spared the most serious effects of the hurricane. Nonetheless, we do expect that the storm will produce high winds and significant rain even in the Boston area during the day and evening on Monday.

Because of this, some places in our area may experience power outages and localized flooding. We encourage everyone in the community to prepare for the storm and take precautions to ensure your safety. Please charge your mobile phones and other portable devices, check to see that you have access to a flashlight with fresh batteries and close all windows.

Staff on campus are ensuring that preparations are made in residence halls and other buildings. At this stage we anticipate no changes to campus schedules or services on Monday or Tuesday. Dining halls will operate normally and university offices will open. If weather forces us to close any dining facility we will ensure that food is available at another location on campus.

Please be assured that Brandeis' Department of Public Safety will be fully staffed and that emergency shelters are available in the unlikely event we should need them. Please report any storm-related issues (e.g.: leaks, flooding, building damage, utility outages) to Public Safety at (781) 736-3333.

We will keep you advised by email in the event of any changes in the weather forecast or of any additional effects the storm might have on campus or to class schedules. We will post any major change to the schedule, such as a cancellation of classes, on the Brandeis homepage and on BrandeisNOW.

Stay safe,

Fred