For Coastal Colleges, Evacuation Means Far More Than Just Moving People

U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Flight instructors at Elizabeth City State University hopped into the aviation-science program’s six airplanes late Tuesday morning and flew about 35 miles south to a nearby airport to be stored in a bigger, more flood-proof hangar.

The airplanes weren’t the only precious cargo the program evacuated. The university also moved a 40-foot mobile lab to higher ground to protect the equipment stored inside, which includes 3-D printers, mobile robots, wind-turbine models, and flight simulators.

As Hurricane Florence, now a Category 3 storm, approaches the Carolinas with forecasted disastrous winds and rainfall, campuses are scrambling to safeguard not only their students and staff, but also expensive research equipment and sophisticated technology. And they’re taking unprecedented steps to do so. This is the first time Elizabeth City State has evacuated its fleet of airplanes, according to Kuldeep Rawat, the aviation-science director.

As they braced for a projected Friday landfall, universities in the storm’s path are moving fast to put emergency plans into action. The faculty at East Carolina University planned to shut down all lab research and recover all field equipment by no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Jay Golden, the vice chancellor for research, economic development, and engagement.

East Carolina staff are responsible for protecting both the Greenville campus and their coastal and Outer Banks research facilities, which may be more at risk. The facilities house a fleet of boats used as platforms for equipment and research to study engineering and biology topics like wave energy and water quality, he said.

In preparation for the storm, the boats were moved inland on trailers to safer university locations, Golden said.

In addition to shutting down field experiments, all lab experiments have also been closed because of the threat of power outages and severe flooding. “Even though there are a multitude of generators, we just don’t know how long the power outage may be. We don’t want specimens to spoil or to have environmental-health or safety issues,” he said.

As East Carolina University’s storm preparations wind down, the college is not just looking to evacuate its research equipment, but to use it, too. Water sensors will be kept in place during the hurricane to remotely test water quantity, quality, and movement, Golden said. The sensors are used to “better inform us as we try for recovery and try to start understanding how these hurricanes affect people and places throughout North Carolina.”

Local universities and labs, including those in the University of North Carolina system and others, like the Duke University Marine Lab, plan to work together after the storm to prevent further research interruptions, Golden said. Students and faculty at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, for example, will be welcome to share East Carolina’s labs, equipment, and other resources, pending any damages to UNC at Wilmington’s facilities.

For now, students and faculty can only wait and see how the storm’s path will affect their campuses and continuing research. Elizabeth City State is closing all residence halls on Wednesday, having encouraged students to evacuate the area. Students who can’t leave will be housed in a designated shelter.

East Carolina students have been encouraged to evacuate eastern North Carolina. Only 33 students remain on campus, according to Tom Eppes, chief communications officer. They will be housed in one campus residence hall, with food provided.

UNC at Asheville is among the colleges stepping in to help house students from coastal colleges. So far, the inland campus has welcomed nine students from the Wilmington campus, according to Nancy J. Cable, Asheville’s chancellor. “We’re at the ready to take more students,” she said.

The students will be given full access to the Asheville campus’s gym, cafeteria, and even classes, she said. “We’re following the memo of understanding that exists across the UNC system that we will help each other out as institutions for the good of our students, faculty and staff.”

Follow Cailin Crowe on Twitter at @cailincrowe, or email her at cailin.crowe@chronicle.com.