*** Attention All Staff – Hurricane Dorian ***

As you might be aware, Hurricane Dorian is currently predicted to make landfall on the East coast mid-day on Thursday on the eastern sea board as a category 4 storm. And then continue inland. Projections show North Carolina will receive high winds, heavy rain and flash flooding beginning Thursday and continuing through the weekend.

As of today, September 3,2019 Monarch has enacted our agency wide Emergency Management Plan and scheduled Incident Command System (ICS) conference calls on how to specifically prepare for the storm.

Please utilize the following link for more information www.ReadyNC.org

Updates and links will be available on the MyMonarch intranet page.

If you have questions or concerns please feel free to contact [email protected].

Get Prepared and Stay Safe!

With the threat of severe weather, the Facilities and Safety Departments would like to remind you of some things that you can do to prepare:

• Continue to monitor local weather conditions including watches and warnings
• Fill up vehicles with gas
• Inventory and replace all necessary emergency items, including non-perishable food, drinking water, batteries, etc.
• Make sure that our persons supported have sufficient medications on hand since pharmacies and stores might be closed
• Make sure you know the closest emergency shelter location in the event that you are asked to evacuate
• Secure or bring inside all outdoor items that may be blown around in high winds
• If you have a basement space, be sure to remove essential items (such as records of people we support) that would be damaged or destroyed if the area flooded

IT Specific procedures

With the expected flooding in areas throughout the state that normally see high water and associated flooding, Monarch IT wants to request ALL staff to please take the following precautions:

• If you are in an area where the water reaches a level that will require you to evacuate, please TURN OFF and UNPLUG from the wall outlet any computers, printers, copiers, televisions, and any electronic equipment that might become partially or totally submerged under water.
• Whenever possible, if any equipment normally rests/sits on the floor, after the equipment is turned off and unplugged, please move it to a nearby table or desk / chair to get it up off of the floor.
• At non-residential sites, when you leave the site whether it be for flood evacuation reasons or simply the end of the normal business day, please consider water levels around your office and unplug and move electronic items off of the floor to a table or chair before you leave for the day.
• In the case of network equipment such as servers, if sitting on or near the floor, please place it on a chair, table, or desk nearby.
• Another item that is often overlooked is laptops. If laptops are left in an area that could become wet/flooded, please move it to a nearby table or desk / chair to get it up off of the floor.
• Please contact the IT Helpdesk if there are any IT related situations that you are unsure what action would need to be taken and the IT Helpdesk team can advise you how to proceed.
• Please proceed on the side of caution in any situation involving electronic devices and rising water.
• And lastly – and very important also – if equipment is turned off and unplugged and does get wet – DO NOT turn it back on until IT has a chance to inspect it and make sure it is completely dry, inside and out. Protecting items in this category after the flood is gone is every bit as important as turning it off and unplugging before the flood comes.