Hurricane Sandy isn’t expected to make landfall until Monday night, but the massive storm has already caused havoc in the Philadelphia area.
Temple canceled classes and activities and closed all campuses for Monday and Tuesday. Residence halls and dining halls, consisting of Johnson & Hardwick Cafeteria and the Student Center, will remain open during the storm. James Creedon, senior vice president for construction, facilities and management, said that if conditions continue to deteriorate, the university would consider closing the Student Center as well.
“If thing’s get worse as we go along, we may have to limit it to J & H, but right now J & H and the SAC [are open],” Creedon said.
It was unclear whether the rest of the Student Center would be open, but Creedon said that students should plan on it not being available.
Only essential employees are expected to report for work which include security, facilities management and operational staff, among others, Creedon said. Employees who need to report to work, but can’t get back home, would stay at Temple. Creedon said there’s a place within the Facilities Management building where they could stay, but said “we’re not at that point yet.”
Creedon said most of the planning for the storm began on Thursday, Oct. 25.
SEPTA stopped all service shortly after midnight Monday and PATCO suspended service early Monday morning. PATCO expects service to resume Tuesday or when weather permits.
Sandy is expected to make landfall Monday and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said during a press conference that wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph are possible. Mayor Michael Nutter, Corbett and New Jersey Gov.Chris Christie have all declared a state of emergency for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, respectively.
Sean Carlin can be reached at sean.carlin@temple.edu or on Twitter @SeanCarlin84.
Check back with temple-news.com for more information as it becomes available.
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