Preparations for Hurricane Florence in Eastern United States, September 10, 2018

On September 10, 2018, Hurricane Florence was upgraded to a category 4 hurricane and forecasts are predicting that the storm will make landfall along the east coast of the United States. The storm has the potential to affect several of our member institutions towards the end of the week. In preparation for this storm, the institutions below are monitoring the storm closely and are making plans for evacuations and class cancellations, if necessary. We are in touch with the ISEP students and ISEP coordinators on these campuses who have plans in place to accommodate ISEP students during the storm. Please check their websites for updates as additional information is provided on the path of the storm and its possible impact.

East Carolina University

Georgia Southern University

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Other ISEP members institutions, not directly on the coast, are expecting heavy rains, major flooding and potentially damaging winds. Their individual campus status can be found at the links below:

Appalachian State University

Lenoir Rhyne University

North Carolina A&T

Queens University of Charlotte

Randolph-Macon College

Roanoke College

UNC Greensboro

UNC Charlotte

UNC Pembroke

Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Tech

We will continue to monitor this situation and will provide more information as it is made available. For more information, we recommend following our website for real-time updates.

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To prepare for the impending storm, we urge all students to:

1. Respond immediately to any calls or “check-in” emails from ISEP, as it is an essential part of our emergency and safety protocols to make sure you are safe and accounted for.
2. Contact your parents or emergency contact to let them know you are safe and about your planned whereabouts during the storm to prevent extra worry.
3. Sign up for storm alerts to stay abreast and vigilant as the situation unfolds. Please look to your host institution, embassy, local law enforcement and media for additional updates.
   
4. Carry a fully charged cell phone with you at all times, in the case of an emergency or a power outage.
5. Contact your host ISEP Coordinator if you have any problems or follow-up questions.

Additionally, after the storm, if communication means are functioning, please immediately confirm your safety with your parents or emergency contacts, host ISEP Coordinator and assigned ISEP Program Manager. We understand there may be power outages.

Students can let us know about their safety in the following ways:

1. E-mail: jgay@isep.org
2. Emergency Phone: 1-301-681-2388
3. Social Media: Check-in on Facebook on our closed Facebook Group with the words “safe”

Throughout the storm, we will be closely monitoring the situation and will be in touch with both you and your home ISEP Coordinator to relay back any information regarding your safety.

We will also provide any new updates on the storm and actions required. We recommend checking this page and #ISEPAlerts on the @ISEPStudyAbroad Twitter feed for real-time updates.