The entrance of the 2011 fall semester is one VCU students will more than likely not forget. Two days before class, an abnormal earthquake shook the nerves of East Coast residents. Following an earthquake that no one in their right mind expected, Hurricane Irene threatened the safety of the East Coast — invoking fear in parents and students at VCU. Whispers of the end of the world spread across conversations on campus, while various students headed home to visit family or reach safer ground. Thankfully, Hurricane Irene left Richmond and VCU without fatalities, and the only main burden was power outages and property damage.
However, coastal areas in the Hampton Roads and North Carolina were not as fortunate. At least a dozen deaths were recorded because of the severity of the storm due to car accidents, flooding, fallen trees, and overall destruction of property. With a large percentage of VCU’s student-body coming from the Hampton Roads area, one can only imagine the mental discomfort fellow students faced.
Before Irene hit Virginia, forecasts predicted the hurricane to tear through Richmond. Some students left campus to spend time in a safer location while others loaded up on bottled water, nonperishable foods, and batteries. The VCU social scene took a haul and on Facebook, parties were canceled and people were advised to stay inside.
Irene’s aftermath left behind fallen trees at Monroe Park and an absence of homeless people wondering the streets. Classes were not canceled, but according to the Richmond Times Dispatch, 75% of Richmond’s electricity went out because of the storm. At the university, administration extended the add/ drop date from August 31 to September 6. Also, VCU’s Cary Street and MCV recreational centers opened their showers to VCU students because of power outages. Currently, residents and students in Richmond remain without electricity; however, most of the city has regained power.