Due to a lower than expected influx of Gulf Coast evacuees, UGA officials were notified on Sept. 12 that the Ramsey Student Center no longer needs to remain on standby as a temporary housing shelter. That decision was made by officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Georgia Office of Homeland Security and the American Red Cross.
“Our thanks go to those on campus and in the Athens community who worked diligently to implement the emergency plan, even though this facility ultimately was not utilized,” says Opal Haley, director of UGA’s Office of Security Preparedness. “Our thanks also go to the campus community for its generosity and understanding in this time of crisis.”
As of Sept. 15, fewer than 400 evacuees-of 609 originally-remained in temporary housing at UGA’s Rock Eagle 4-H Center near Eatonton. Red Cross officials expressed optimism the shelter would be empty by later this week.
“We expect some of those evacuees to make their way to Athens over the coming weeks as they transition to more permanent housing,” says Haley. “The university community owes a special thanks to Arch Smith and the Rock Eagle staff for their Herculean efforts in making this shelter ready and in operating it 24/7 since Sept. 4.”
