Fall Sports Preview page 18
Week of August 29, 2011
Vol. 84, Issue #1
RIC under construction
PAGE 2
RIC, myself and Irene
Campus left in the dark By George Bissell Editor-in-Chief
Rhode Island College was not spared from the wrath of Hurricane Irene, a tropical storm the size of Europe (550 miles in width) that dumped several inches of rain and left thousands of Rhode Island residents without power due to high winds that took down trees and damaged utility lines statewide. National Grid estimates that more than 340,000 of the 480,000 Rhode Island electrical customers experienced power failures as a result of the tropical storm, including RIC. As of Monday Aug. 29, RIC was one of 276,328 customers still without commercial power and was running primarily on generator power. Due to intermittent power availability, day and evening classes remained cancelled for Monday, Aug. 29. Day classes on Tuesday, Aug. 30 were cancelled as well. However, evening classes beginning at or after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30, are to be held as regularly scheduled.
Due to generators located around campus, Donovan Dining Center and all of the residence halls are fully operational, which allowed resident students to move in as planned on Monday afternoon. However, the See POWER Page 5
Irene pummels the East Coast By Alexander J. Hoffman News Editor
Hurricane Irene swept up the majority the U.S. East Coast this past weekend leaving disaster in its wake. Irene peaked at only a Category 2 and quickly dropped back down to a Category 1 hurricane. A hurricane’s category is determined by the strength of its wind speed. A Category 1 storm typically has winds topping out at 80 – 90 mph, nowhere near the 150+ winds seen in a Category 5 hurricane like Katrina. However, despite this storm topping out at a maximum
of 80 mph winds, the pressure of this storm was in the range of 950 – 970 millibars, putting it among the top 30 worst hurricanes of all time. The pressure from this storm and the amount of rainfall were the main culprits causing the massive amounts of flooding sustained all over the East Coast. The combination of flooding and wind blowing at a constant 50+ mph has caused long-term power outages in 13 states. Hurricane Irene at one point reached a size of 550 miles across, or roughly the size of the European continent, as it barreled up the coast.
According to CNN, 21 people have been reported dead across nine states with North Carolina suffering the bulk of the casualties. North Carolina was arguably the most affected by this storm. Flooding is a major concern as far west as Greensboro in the middle of the state. CNN reported over 444,000 customers are still without power Sunday afternoon. Residents of Hatteras Island were issued mandatory evacuation notices, though 2,500 people ignored the warning. Emergency ferries still have not been able to reach those stranded on the island.
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In Vermont the flooding has been described as the worst the state has seen since 1927. Most of the state is without power and officials are extremely concerned about the structural integrity of a vast majority of See NATIONAL Page 5
Check out theanchoronline.org for exclusive photos of Hurricane Irene’s damage at Rhode Island College.