August 29, 2021
10:30 a.m.
Dear Tulane Community:
We walked throughout campus earlier this morning to ensure that our students are safely indoors as Hurricane Ida approaches. All students, on or off-campus, and everyone in the Tulane community, should remain indoors and sheltered in place until the storm passes. We will start seeing sustained tropical storm conditions beginning at 11 a.m. today. Tropical storm and hurricane force winds will continue through the early hours of Monday. We are expected to experience sustained winds of 75 to 85 mph and gusts between 90 and 100 mph, along with heavy rainfall of between 8 to 16 inches. Ida’s impact could result in extended power outages, as well as downed trees, boil water advisories and possibly, structural damage.
Ida’s path deviated from what forecasters had predicted as recently as yesterday morning. However, we are confident we have taken every precaution and that we will weather this storm as we have others in the past. All residence halls are secured and supplied with back-up emergency power as are other essential university buildings. We have also distributed three days’ worth of food to both on and off-campus students and given shelter in the LBC to those who felt unsafe in their off-campus home. We are fully staffed at the Hyatt and the Jung hotels for students who are in isolation there and they are being provided with meals. TUPD officers along with staff from the Office of Student Affairs, Campus Services (504-865-5441) and many other departments are on-site with us as to ensure our students’ continued safety.
Students living in Irby, Phelps, Paterson and Wall residence halls have been relocated to The Commons/LBC complex as a precaution since these residence halls are near the crane tower off McAlister Way. This crane is designed to withstand winds far above what we are expecting but, out of an overabundance of caution, we moved students away from the construction site.
Please continue to monitor your email for daily updates from Tulane, which will also be posted at tulane.edu/emergency. For any questions, contact our Call Center at 504-865-5000. In addition, you can continue to stay updated with Nola Ready emergency alerts at ready.nola.gov/alerts.
We know that our community members, particularly those new to Tulane, are anxious as this storm approaches. We want to reiterate that a large and dedicated staff are working around the clock for the Tulane community’s protection and will be with our students before, during and after the storm.
Michael A. Fitts, President
Robin Forman, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Patrick Norton, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
