Daniel Bayer
  Staff Writer

The hurricane-fueled storms that menaced the East Coast last weekend, sinking at least one ship and creating massive flooding in some areas, left the UNCG campus relatively undamaged, thanks to efforts by the college’s Emergency Management office.

Jason Stogner, director of Emergency Management, said that the Greensboro area missed the worst parts of the storm.

Stogner said that the forecast decreased over the week and turned out to be nowhere as bad as they thought it would be. Still, Emergency Management prepared for severe weather and heavy rains by identifying areas around campus that have flooded in the past and clearing build-ups of debris that would inhibit drainage.

Reactions from students to the possibility of storm damage ranged from mildly annoyed to somewhat concerned.

“Since we’re in the Piedmont region, the flood and hurricane will probably not hit too hard in our area, so I’m not worried about it.” says Fiona Abraham. “I feel like the excessive rain has made many things inconvenient. If the rain gets too extreme, my classes will probably get cancelled leading to an inconvenience for both my professors and I.”

“I think the change in the weather is just a part of becoming fall. Here in North Carolina it’s pretty normal to have wet autumns, but we’re pretty far from the coast so I’m not too worried (about flooding)” says Kayti Mowry. “I think people will just need to drive extra careful and watch weather reports closely to know what to expect each day.”

Hurricane Joaquin inundated South Carolina, causing massive flooding and at least seven deaths as over 20 inches of rain pummeled the state, according to news reports. President Obama declared a state of emergency and school systems across the state canceled classes Monday as the daily life of millions of South Carolinians was disrupted by what Governor Nikki Haley described as a “once in a thousand years” flood.

Meanwhile the U.S. Coast Guard continued scouring the Caribbean Sea for any signs of survivors from the crew of the El Faro, a cargo ship that went missing with all hands last week as the hurricane bore down on it. So far none of the ship’s 33 crew members have been found.

In Greensboro, however, the storm merely resulted in mild discomfort and scattered power outages.

“The change from warm weather to cold and rainy this year was sudden and unpleasant since no one was really ready for it,” says student Devin Lenahan, “ I don’t think it will affect my classes though since the storm never made landfall. But I hope the flooding doesn’t continue.”