William Peace University prepared for Hurricane Dorian to make landfall and approach Raleigh on Sep. 5, lasting through the following day, but luckily saw few effects from the storm.
Peace received an email from the Director of Public Safety, Michael John, on Thursday explaining that the campus would be closed starting at 4:30pm with all campus events cancelled as a precaution as the hurricane was approaching, but the campus would reopened the next day while staff continued to monitor conditions.
“I was hoping it would hit harder,” said WPU freshman Mariah Martin. “I love a good storm, hurricane party, and canceled classes.”
Some students were already preparing for the storm by leaving campus early, thinking the campus would still be closed the following day as when Hurricane Florence hit, not even a year ago, causing severe damage.
“I was constantly watching the weather channel knowing Dorian was moving closer to North Carolina,” said WPU senior Mary Mills. “We boarded up our house at the beach. Our beach house was hit last year by Hurricane Florence and had to be completely redone. I was so worried Dorian was going to hit Emerald Isle again and destroy our home for the second time.”
Heavy rain and wind started increasing Thursday evening and into the night causing people to think that the worst was yet to come. Weather channels were reporting on the hurricane in various areas of North Carolina and said that “Hurricane Dorian was on our back doorstep,” meaning that it was just about to reach Raleigh late Thursday night.
The impact of Hurricane Dorian was less than expected and classes resumed Friday after the campus delay. There was no noticeable damage to the Peace community, but students were still feeling uneasy, anticipating the storm and being away from family.
“I was worried for my family in Florida, but we live on the other coast and I knew my parents would take precaution,” said Martin.
Many people in Wake county were expecting the worst outcome from the hurricane, going ahead and preparing with candles, bread, water, gas, and canned items in case of power outages.
Instead, on Friday morning, the sky was blue, birds chirping, a cool breeze in the air, and the city was continued to go about its day as normal.
While the Peace community did not feel much effect of the hurricane, parts of North Carolina, such as the Outer Banks, felt otherwise. With some eastern schools not even recovering from Hurricane Florence yet, now they are having to recover from Hurricane Dorian and rebuild.
“My prayers are with those hit by the hurricane in the Bahamas and the coast of the Carolinas, that they recover quickly and receive the help they need in the coming months,” said Martin.
The Peace community is feeling grateful that not a lot of damage was done to the area, but are thinking of everyone who was impacted by this storm.
“I am just overall very thankful that North Carolina was not hit as hard as we expected and that everyone is safe,” said Mills.