A storm forces the students to take cover, causing damage to the community – Grand Valley Lanthorn
On Thursday, August 24 at 8:25 PM, Grand Valley State University students register for GVSUAlert! The emergency notification system received a tornado warning in the form of a phone call, text message, and email. Message text: “GVSUALERT! Grand Rapids Hurricane Warning – FIND SHELTER IMMEDIATELY! Operations suspended until ALL CLEAR declared.
The message was issued in response to severe storms that passed through western Michigan Thursday night. According to WoodTV, the storms mostly affected northern Kent County and Ionia County.
The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF1 tornado struck north of Grand Rapids Thursday night.
The hurricane caused severe damage to homes and properties. With winds of up to 110 mph, the hurricane snapped power lines, downed trees and destroyed homes and businesses.
Heavy rain and poor visibility also caused many motor vehicle accidents across Kent County. Three people died in a waterslide accident east of Cedar Springs. The Kent County Sheriff’s Office said the Mitsubishi Eclipse lost control, crossed the center and collided with an Audi four-wheel drive. The 21-year-old passenger in the front seat and the two young girls in the back seat were declared dead at the scene. The 22-year-old driver survived and was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Portions of US-131 were closed to traffic due to unsafe driving conditions caused by active power lines hitting the road, resulting in the interstate closure.
Consumers Energy began repairing power lines shortly after the storm passed, though many people had to wait several days for power to be restored. By Monday, August 28, consumers had restored power to just over 80 percent of the 200,000 customers who lost power after Thursday’s storm, according to Reuters. woodtv.
On GVSU’s Allendale campus, freshmen were moving into their on-campus dorms the day before the storm hit. The storm did not affect any official transmissions, but it did affect the dorms as a community.
Undergraduate student Frida Deakins lives in the dorms at GVSU. Dickens said many students had to vacate their rooms.
“I wasn’t home when the warning arrived, but people in my accommodation were evacuated to the hall downstairs, after RA,” said Dickens.
GVSU’s Pew Campus had a different set of issues associated with the storm’s fallout because it was located in Grand Rapids.
Freshman Jesse Price said she was lucky the storm caused minimal damage to her home even though she lives in downtown Grand Rapids.
“It didn’t affect my house except for some minor flooding in the basement due to heavy rain,” Price said.
GVSU has extensive emergency policies to protect the campus community in the event of dangerous natural phenomena. The most proactive action on campus is the Instant Alert Statement for Students called GVSUAlert!
Once a tornado warning is issued, the GVSU uses the GVSUAlert! A system to send a warning to everyone who subscribed to the updates. All on-campus operations on the affected campus are suspended until full approval is given.
After receiving the warning, GVSU recommends that students move to a storm shelter site on campus. However, if the students “They cannot reach a designated safe location for a tornado” They must “relocate to a small indoor room on the lowest level and move away from windows, doors, and exterior walls,” according to the GVSU’s weather emergency page.
GVSU also encourages students in distress to call 911. In addition, people must report to the Grand Valley Police Department any disabled persons who need assistance.
In the event that GVSU loses power, classes will often be switched to a teleconference so that no students or faculty put themselves in danger. Depending on the seriousness of the matter, the University reserves the right to close the campus and suspend activities entirely.
