University of the Sciences Emergency Information

Hurricane Sandy Update

USciences will resume classes and normal operations, Wednesday, October 31, 2012. If any faculty or staff experience local conditions that prevent them from coming to work, please notify your immediate supervisor. If you are a faculty member, please notify students via Blackboard and/or Angel and contact your department chair, if you anticipate cancelling a class. Students who commute and are unable to make it to campus due to local conditions please notify your instructors.

CLASSES CANCELLED MONDAY & TUESDAY

Due to severe weather that is predicted to accompany the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, all classes at USciences have been cancelled for Monday, October 29 and Tuesday, October 30. Only those personnel providing essential services should report to work on Monday and Tuesday.  

 

• The Residence Halls will remain open and fully staffed.
• Students remaining on campus will continue to have access to the Wilson Hall Dining Facility.
• The Library and ARC will close as of 5:00pm today, however Alumni Hall will remain open until 8:00pm today.  
• The Department of Public Safety will remain fully staffed and may be reached at:
  • 215-596-7000 - Emergency
  • 215-895-1117 – Non Emergency

The USciences Emergency Response Team continues to monitor the situation, and extensive preparations have been taken to ensure the safety of students and others who will be on campus during the storm.

Updates concerning the storm will be posted on the USciences homepage (http://www.usciences.edu/) and the USciences Emergency web site.  (http://emergency.usciences.edu/).  Faculty, staff and students can also call USciences Weather Emergency Line (215-596-8747) to hear a recorded message regarding the status of classes.  Additional information may also be posted at:

• KYW News Radio
• USciences email & phone voice messaging system
• USciences televisions & monitor systems

 

The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management has released the following information regarding the storms possible impact in the Philadelphia area:

 

Rain / Freshwater Flooding:  Showery rain will begin on Sunday. The core of the rain will be early Monday through Monday night.  Showers will linger into Wednesday.  Up to 4-8 inches of rain is possible in Philadelphia.   River and stream flooding is likely with this amount of rain, which would be similar to what we had with Hurricane Irene last year.  Clogged drains due to leaves could cause additional problems.

 

Winds:  Winds are forecast to be 30-50 mph sustained with higher gusts upwards of 65pmh.  This will be a long duration wind event and winds at this level could last for 24 hours or more, likely from early Monday into early Tuesday.  Downed trees and power outages are likely with this level of wind.

 

Tidal Flooding:   The level of storm surge driven by southeast winds could produce record levels of flooding along the tidal Delaware River and the lower Schuylkill River and could last for several tide cycles.  High tides of particular concern are 1:30am and 2pm Monday. Coastal Flooding has the potential for 4-8ft of surge along the Delaware which could reach record levels around 10.5ft during high tide Monday at 2pm.   

 

Temperatures:  Temperatures will primarily be in the 40s and low 50s during and after the event.

This is a major storm that will bring high winds and significant rain to the area. Localized flooding and some power outages are expected during the storm. We urge everyone to exercise extreme caution during this time. Information regarding hurricane preparedness can be found at the following link from FEMA: www.ready.gov/hurricanes

Hurricane Preparation

While the University’s Emergency Response Team closely monitors Hurricane Sandy’s course, you can practice these tips to prepare for a possible storm:

 

• Charge all electrical devices.  In the event that power goes out, a full charge on your cell phone, tablet, laptop, or handheld game system will extend the life of your device.
• Refrain from lighting candles.  Especially in an emergency, open flames can be a major fire hazard.
• Replace the batteries in your flashlight, OR purchase a flashlight and extra batteries, OR download a flashlight app for your cell phone or tablet.
• Close and tightly seal all windows.  If you can, pull screens down to prevent falling branches from making direct contact with the window’s glass.
• If you leave your residence prior to the storm, tell your roommate(s) and friends where you’re going beforehand.
• Pack a small bag (in case you need to evacuate) that contains:

o   Clothes for two to three days,

o   Toiletries,

o   Prescription medications and necessary medical supplies,

o   Non-perishable food/snacks,

o   Bottles of water,

o   USciences ID and keys,

o   Cash (especially small bills and change for vending machines),

o   Bedroll/sleeping bag and pillow

• Find a battery-powered radio.  Tune it to KYW Newsradio 1060 AM – this will allow you to monitor the storm, should you lose power.
• Register to receive emergency text notifications (alerts and emails) at https://alert.usciences.edu/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDefault.aspx.
• Set your fridge to its coldest setting.  This will extend the life of your perishables just a little longer, if power is lost.  Just watch out that nothing freezes.
• Do laundry now.  If we lose power, washers and dryers won’t clean your three weeks-worth of clothes.

Water Restored - 10/13/12

The Philadelphia Water Department has completed the schedule repairs. Water has been restored to all buildings on campus.

Campus Water Outage - 10/13/12

Dear Students, Faculty, & Staff, 

As I'm sure you are aware, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) has been repairing a water main break on Woodland Avenue this week.  This work has triggered another leak at 42nd street on the loop road behind Goodman Hall.  In order to repair this leak PWD will need to shut off water to the following buildings:  

• Goodman Hall
• Wilson Hall,
• 4100 Woodland Avenue (Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and Study Room).

In order to lessen the impact on our campus community we have requested that they delay this work until Saturday, October 13th.  They have agreed and they estimate that the repair should be completed between 8 AM and 4 PM this Saturday.

Due to the lack of water pressure we will need to close the bathroom facilities in Goodman, Wilson and 4100 Woodland for the duration of the repair.  This will also affect Dining Services and we will be moving dining to the Recreation Gym in the ARC for Saturday, October 13th.  

Brunch will be available from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in the Rec Gym

Dinner will be available from 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in the Rec Gym

Since Starbucks will be closed, we will open the STC Coffee Lab from 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Wilson Express will have their normal hours of 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

The ARC will open at 7 AM on Saturday to accommodate students who need to shower early.  Shower and bathroom facilities will be available in the ARC and bathrooms will be available in the STC and Alumni Hall. Porta-potties will be available near the entrances to Wilson and Goodman for residential student use.

The Library will be open during normal hours on Saturday: 11 AM – 10 PM and Sunday:

12 PM – 2 AM

We are sorry for the inconvenience this causes to our resident students in particular and all members of our community who will be on campus on Saturday.

Please direct any questions to the Dean of Student's office at 215-596-8950.

Thank you for your patience while PDW make these necessary repairs.  

 Sincerely,

William Cunningham, Ph.D.

Dean of Students

Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Business

University of the Sciences

600 S. 43rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19104

Phone: 215-596-8535

Fax: 215-596-8792

Email: w.cunnin@usp.edu

USciences: Where healthcare and science converge.