MUSC Catalyst 6-19-2015

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June 19, 2015

MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA

Vol. 33, No. 41

Inside Captain pride award

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photo by NOAA

More than 25 years after Hurricane Hugo, MUSC is bracing for the next big storm. Experts say it’s only a matter of time.

‘It only takes one storm to make a bad hurricane season’ By J. Ryne Danielson Public Relations

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t’s been over a quarter century since Hurricane Hugo slammed into the South Carolina coast just a few miles north of Charleston, killing 35 people and leaving upward of 100,000 homeless. At the time, Hugo was the costliest storm in U.S. history, though it was soon supplanted by Andrew, Katrina and a host of other billion dollar storms. Hurricane season began June 1 and one named storm, Ana, has already swept up the Carolina coast. The Weather Channel recently listed Charleston as “vulnerable and overdue” for another big storm and MUSC is taking that warning seriously. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts six to11 named storms for the 2015 season, with three to six of those being hurricanes and up to two being major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher. This would make the season slightly

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calmer than usual, however that doesn’t mean we’re off the hook. “It only takes one storm to make a bad hurricane season,” said Jennifer Taylor, business manager for MUSC Risk Management. “That’s why preparation is key. We learned with Gaston in 2004 that we might not have a lot of time to get ready. That storm formed right off our coast and it formed pretty quickly.” Gaston made landfall Aug. 29, just north of Charleston. Originally classified a tropical storm, it was later reclassified a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph. Even with a relatively small storm like Gaston, damage to MUSC’s campus was extensive. “We had roughly a million dollars in wind and rain damage to some of our buildings,” Taylor said. “It did a lot more damage than we thought.” For an organization as large and complex as MUSC, staying ahead of a storm is no

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See Storm on page 6 @ Catalyst_MUSC

MUSC librarian recognized for sustainability efforts in community.

GlObal health

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Five faculty receive seed funding to conduct global research.

3 Around Campus 5 Meet Donna 10 Wellness t h e C ata ly s t Online http://www. musc.edu/ catalyst


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