Rice University To Prepare Compus For Gustav

The Rice university will be closed for Labor Day. We will be posting updates here as they become available.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center said it is too soon to predict where the storm will hit land, but the currently projected track suggests Gustav could strengthen into a hurricane and strike Louisiana by Tuesday.

Rice's Crisis Management Team is monitoring the storm and will hold a conference call at noon Sunday to review Gustav's status and discuss additional steps to prepare for it.

Students, faculty and staff should check www.rice.edu regularly for updates and announcements about whether the university will reopen for business Tuesday or close because of the storm. They should also make sure their emergency contact information is updated on their Esther account (esther.rice.edu) so they can receive messages from the Crisis Management Team.

Rice faculty and staff should take steps to secure their own homes if the storm strikes. Only employees designated as “essential” should report to campus if there is a storm. The campus is equipped to protect the safety and welfare of its resident students but lacks space, food and water to serve others.

In addition, do not call the Rice University Police Department for updates, which will be available on rice.edu. The police department needs to keep its dispatch lines available for emergency purposes.

By The Rice University