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School Buses Pitch In on Hurricane Dorian Evacuation Efforts

School districts in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida are using their buses to assist in evacuation efforts and transport hurricane relief supplies.

by Nicole Schlosser and Sadiah Thompson
September 5, 2019
2 min to read


In Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida, school buses are playing a role in keeping people safe during Hurricane Dorian.

A school district in Brunswick, Ga., joined evacuation efforts in preparation for the storm, donating several school buses to transport over 500 evacuees to shelters located further inland, The Brunswick News reports.

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Glynn County School System transported the evacuees from Lanier Plaza to American Red Cross shelters on Monday and Tuesday, according to the news source.

A total of six school buses were used in the evacuation efforts, according to WRBL.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, school buses are standing at the ready to assist during Dorian, specially outfitted like ambulances and dubbed “Evac One,” WTVD reports.

The buses help first responders move several patients who aren’t critically ill at the same time. One Evac One bus transported hospital patients to medical facilities in safe areas during Hurricane Florence last year, according to WTVD.

There are 12 similarly outfitted buses located in various parts of the state, and they can each accommodate 14 patients, the news source reports. One of the buses reportedly came from the Charlotte area and another was donated by Guilford County.

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Additionally, in Florida, Miami-Dade County Public Schools will be turning more than 300 of its schools into collection sites for hurricane relief supplies and is donating some of its buses that are not in use to the Bahamas, according to the Miami Herald.

Alberto Carvalho, the district’s superintendent, told the newspaper that the district will be transporting the supplies and buses to the island by Royal Carribbean International.

School buses also came to the rescue during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and Hurricanes Florence and Irma in 2018.

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