Preparations
In the Turks and Caicos, streets were cleared and schools and airports were closed ahead of Hanna's arrival. Transportation on and off the Island was stopped until the system lightens or passes.
NASA also announced that the movement of the Space Shuttle Atlantis to the launchpad for Flight STS-125 from the Kennedy Space Center would be pushed up a day due to the threat of Hanna. Amtrak also canceled some train routes that run through the southeast United States.
In Wilmington, North Carolina, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington canceled all classes and activities for Friday, September 5, and Saturday, September 6, in preparation for the storm, and issued an advised voluntary evacuation. UNCW officially closed at noon on Friday, and reopened at noon on Saturday, after the storm had passed. Specifically Wagoner Dining Hall, Randall Library, and the Student Recreation Center were reopened to students. Classes resumed regular schedules on Monday, September 8.
Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia canceled all class and activities on Friday and Saturday and issued a mandatory evacuation due to fears of a power outage. The College of William & Mary and Old Dominion University nearby had not made any similar plans. Old Dominion University and nearby neighboring school Norfolk State University did cancel classes for both Friday afternoon, and Saturday, due to the possibilities of heavy rain and wind. Two other Hampton Roads schools, Regent University and Virginia Wesleyan College, did not close on Friday, but Regent closed completely on Saturday, while Virginia Wesleyan canceled classes on Saturday but otherwise remained open.
On Friday, September 5, NASCAR announced that they would postpone the NASCAR Nationwide Series Emerson Radio 250 (scheduled to be run that evening) and the next day's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevy Rock and Roll 400 until Sunday afternoon after Hanna had moved north of Virginia. Both races were held at the Richmond International Raceway in Henrico County, VA. With a delay in the storm during the day on September 6, the US Open tennis tournament went on, but was eventually cancelled as the rains came. Nearby at Shea Stadium, the baseball game between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies was cancelled in advance of the storm, rescheduled as a day-night doubleheader on September 7.
On Friday, September 5, rural water associations along the east coast and neighboring states prepared staff and equipment to respond to emergencies. Associations activated their mutual aid networks, preparing for the landfall of Hanna and Hurricane Ike while still providing assistance to areas impacted by Hurricane Gustav. On September 5, 2008 the Emergency Measures Organization of the Canadian province of New Brunswick issued a warning to expect "significant rainfall" and "localized flooding" on September 7, 2008 and September 8, 2008.
In Long Island, power companies were preparing for a minimal hurricane to be fully prepared for the first real test of New York's readiness for a strong storm impacting the region. In Nassau, phone calls were attempted to volunteer fire departments but at the same time, calls were being made to 193,000 residences about the West Nile Virus, slowing down phone connections. Over 800 workers were on standby in case anything were to happen due to the storm.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Hanna (2008)
Famous quotes containing the word preparations:
“The most evident difference between man and animals is this: the beast, in as much as it is largely motivated by the senses and with little perception of the past or future, lives only for the present. But man, because he is endowed with reason by which he is able to perceive relationships, sees the causes of things, understands the reciprocal nature of cause and effect, makes analogies, easily surveys the whole course of his life, and makes the necessary preparations for its conduct.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“In all the important preparations of the mind she was complete; being prepared for matrimony by an hatred of home, restraint, and tranquillity; by the misery of disappointed affection, and contempt of the man she was to marry. The rest might wait. The preparations of new carriages and furniture might wait for London and the spring, when her own taste could have fairer play.”
—Jane Austen (1775–1817)
“At the ramparts on the cliff near the old Parliament House I counted twenty-four thirty-two-pounders in a row, pointed over the harbor, with their balls piled pyramid-wise between them,—there are said to be in all about one hundred and eighty guns mounted at Quebec,—all which were faithfully kept dusted by officials, in accordance with the motto, “In time of peace prepare for war”; but I saw no preparations for peace: she was plainly an uninvited guest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)