Tuesday’s meeting of the Hurricane Emergency Preparedness Team started on a note of relief as Hurricane Ike had recently taken a westerly turn placing New Orleans out of the storm’s forecasted cone of error. However, the lingering potential threats of Ike remained a focus point for the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, and the Hurricane Emergency Preparedness Team.

Before beginning assessments of last week’s emergency evacuation for Hurricane Gustav, the team erred on the side of caution by continuing preparations for Hurricane Ike, which was then located off the western coast of Cuba.

Members of the planning team, which included Wildes, vice presidents and administrative directors, decided at the beginning of the meeting to keep the university on a “declared status” with SunGard SCT, a Pennsylvania-based firm that provides emergency computer back-up support, until further notice of Ike’s activity.

In case of residual weather threats Louisiana may face from Ike, the preparedness team resolved to send students and faculty warning e-mails containing guidelines similar to those followed during last year’s tornado. Vice President of Academic Affairs Marcia “Cissy” Petty and Physical Plant Director Paul Fleming were commissioned to craft the e-mail with Public Affairs Director Meredith Hartley.

Wildes said he had been closely monitoring the storm’s development with steady ImpactWeather reports sent to his BlackBerry, which he said he was checking between plays of Sunday’s Saints game.

GUSTAV SERVED AS A TEST

As the New Orleans levee system made good against the storm surge, Gustav’s impact was minuscule compared to Katrina’s. Wildes and the preparedness team seized the opportunity afforded by minimal damage to assess aspects of the evacuation process and its efficiency.

“The nice thing about this is we can look at this as one big test,” Wildes said.

Wildes confirmed that the overall performance of the evacuation procedure had been successful and probably no dramatic changes would occur for the remainder of the hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30.

During the evacuation, the vice presidents, academic deans and other leaders stayed in the same hotel outside Dallas where they met twice a day to receive updates and make decisions collectively.

“One thing that we did differently from Katrina was bring what we felt was the right team of individuals to the same table simultaneously,” Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs Ed Kvet said. “One of the things that was difficult about Katrina was that we were dispersed all over.”

The president’s, provost’s and public affairs’ offices maintained communication with staff, students and alumni through 14 different notices sent either through e-mail or the Web site. Parents and alumni could add their names to the e-mail list throughout the progression of the storm.

One suggestion was to collect alternative e-mail addresses for the parents of students.

The team also discussed how effectively students and faculty were able to continue classes through Blackboard. Loyola’s emergency evacuation plan calls for students and faculty to continue classes through the online service. However, the preparedness team recognized that in emergency situations, limitations are bound to occur.

After acknowledging that the nature of certain classes might not allow for continuation at the usual pace, Kvet suggested still using Blackboard as a means for establishing early communication lines.

TEAM PLANS TO GATHER FEEDBACK

Still, the preparedness team emphasized the need for feedback on the problems faculty, students and staff encountered for implementing possible changes for the future. One member of the team stressed understanding those problems, but more importantly listening for suggested solutions.

“I want to get (immediate feedback) because I don’t want people’s memories to fade,” Wildes said.

Tentatively starting in October, Wildes said the university Office of Risk Management will begin coordinating feedback initiatives with the University Senate and Student Government Association for further assessment.

SGA President Cade Cypriano, who was not present at the meeting, said SGA will make efforts to gather student responses when requested.

Steve Heath can be reached at [email protected].