Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters demolished much of New Orleans, officials at the city’s hard hit historically Black universities are busy updating their disaster plans in the face of another hurricane season.
Xavier University of New Orleans ramped up its emergency preparedness plans before Hurricane Katrina ever headed its way, taking the initiative after two tropical storms drenched the city in advance of the bigger storm. The university developed a backup Web site and toll-free phone number that students, faculty and staff could connect to in times of disaster. But now it is adding an extra layer of precaution, says Warren Bell Jr., the university’s associate vice president for university media relations.
Before the tropical storms, Bell says, school officials had to rely on local media to get information to the campus community. That approach often led to the dissemination of inaccuracies, he says.
“After Katrina, we added a campus text messaging system for our students and faculty members,” he says. “We’ll send critical messages to their cell phones or personal data assistants advising them of closings, flooding or other weather emergencies.”
Xavier reopened its doors three months after Katrina’s floodwaters finally receded. Neighboring HBCUs Dillard University and Southern University-New Orleans, however, required a little more time to recover. All three institutions suffered millions of dollars in damage, and millions more in lost tuition as students fled to other parts of the country.
Unlike their predominantly White counterparts, New Orleans’ HBCUs did not have the extensive endowment and operating funds needed to cope with a disaster of Katrina’s magnitude. Yet each overcame in the wake of the historic storm as enrollments as well as campus life are slowly returning to normal.
The National Hurricane Center this month predicted another active season but with the help of donations and sheer willpower, the city’s three HBCUs are rebuilding and shoring up for the next big storm.
