Hurricane Idalia Update

UPDATE: Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 9:00 a.m.

Hurricane Idalia has strengthened overnight, and our campus is now within the tropical storm warning zone. We expect strong wind gusts and prolonged periods of rain in our area.  
 
The GCSU campus will close at noon today, after which all classes and events will be cancelled until Thursday, August 31.  Flash flooding conditions are possible in our area and as a result we encourage students, faculty and staff to shelter in place and drive only when necessary during this time. Only essential employees are expected to remain on campus.  
 
For students on main campus: 

•  The Max and the food court will remain open.  

 
For West Campus residents: 

•  Box meals for lunch will be delivered at noon and available for pickup at the West Campus Center where the Pizza Hut is located.  

For food availability questions, please email dining@gcsu.edu.  Shuttle services will be suspended if wind gusts reach the elevated levels that are forecasted. Refer to the Passio Go app for further information on shuttle availability. 

The library will remain open with limited services.  Books & Brew, located inside the library, will remain open until 3:30 pm.  On West Campus, the Wellness and Recreation Center will also remain open with limited staffing. 

Please check Front Page and GCSU social media accounts for additional updates.  

UPDATE: Tuesday, Aug. 29 at 10:53 p.m.

Georgia College & State University is currently monitoring the weather situation from multiple sources.  GCSU is currently outside the tropical storm zone. However, there is a potential for strong winds and heavy rain in our area.  
 
Although we are not closing campus at this time, we urge everyone to be extra cautious particularly when driving. Please check Front Page and GCSU social media accounts for updates on any changed conditions tomorrow morning.  

ORIGINAL MESSAGE: Tuesday, Aug. 29 at 11:00 a.m.

Hurricane Idalia is expected to pass by our area sometime tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday, 8/30) with limited impacts. Current impacts include 20-30 MPH wind gusts and 1-1.5 inches in rain. Current models are tracking this storm to mostly impact the southeast Georgia region with the storm moving out of the area by late Wednesday night. Georgia College & State University will continue to monitor the storm and update the campus community of any threat increases in severe weather. At this time, campus operations will continue as normal. 

No better time than now to prepare for any emergencies that could happen at any time. This Friday, September 1, is the start of National Preparedness Month. At Georgia College, you can be better prepared by following these steps: 

Sign up for GC Alert to receive campus emergency and closure notices: 

• Log into PAWS 
• Click on the “Personal Information” tab at the top 
• Click “GC Alert Notification Contact Information” 
• Download the Rave Guardian app to access campus safety information and alerts. 
• Have a Plan: Familiarize yourself with building evacuation routes—know where your exits are located. 
• Review the attached Emergency Action Plan Summary. 

To enhance our emergency notification capabilities, Georgia College also utilizes an outdoor warning siren system. When activated, the outdoor warning siren system will provide the GCSU community and surrounding area with quick delivery of an emergency notification. Outdoor siren systems are intended to alert those who are outdoors of a potential emergency, requiring them to seek shelter. They are not designed to be heard inside a structure. Our siren system is silently tested weekly and audibly tested monthly (each first Wednesday) to ensure reliability. 

For more information about our campus emergency systems, please visit our Public Safety emergency systems webpage.