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This week hurricane Gustav threatened the city of New Orleans almost 3 years to the day after hurricane Katrina devastated the city. New Orleans officials displayed efficient and effective emergency preparedness, particularly at area universities and colleges. The hurricane, while significantly less severe than was originally feared, left 1.4 million households in Louisiana without power for several days, and prompted the evacuation of 2 million residents from the Gulf Coast. Tulane University, located in the heart of New Orleans, ordered the mandatory evacuation of its 10,800 students. Since Katrina, schools like Tulane and Xavier have significantly revamped their emergency response systems, and now require all students to create personal evacuation plans. For students unable to evacuate on their own, Tulane provided buses to Jackson State University in Mississippi and Xavier chartered buses to Grambling University in northeast Louisiana. Louisiana State University, located about 80 miles outside of New Orleans in Baton Rouge, was hit much harder by Gustav than it had been by Katrina but opted not to evacuate. While some students decided to leave, many stayed behind, and the university has provided students with food, water and electricity. The mayor of New Orleans has announced that residents will be allowed to return on Thursday and most schools are scheduled to resume classes on Monday. Tulane, Loyola University, Nicholls State and Dillard, among others, have been continuing classes online to avoid the disruption of curriculum. Loyola uses technology provided by Blackboard, which allows students to access course materials and upload assignments online.

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