Blackboard (News - Alert) Inc. is helping K-12 schools, higher education institutions and local governments prepare for hurricanes with mass notification services that alert entire communities in just minutes.

While the 2009 hurricane season was quiet - only one named storm reached the U.S. mainland - the National Hurricane Center predicted an "active to extremely active" season for 2010, posing above-normal risk to the U.S. and Caribbean coastlines.

Evidence was provided this week, as Hurricane Earl produced pounding surf, high winds and heavy rain along the East Coast.

Building on success using the AlertNow and Blackboard Connect services to manage previous storms, Blackboard clients were already prepared for the new hurricane season which began in June.

Both services have become trusted tools in hurricane-prone regions, helping to keep communities informed throughout the lifecycle of a storm incident, from preparation and evacuation to cleanup and recovery.

For example, Virginia Beach City Public Schools, a K-12 district serving approximately 70,000 students, has integrated Blackboard's AlertNow service into its crisis communication plan for more than two years. Hurricane Hanna struck the region as the 2008-2009 school year began, and school officials sent a number of messages to families and staff to keep them up to date on school operations.

“It’s very helpful, whether it’s snow and ice, hurricanes or a whole host of other things,”  Daniel D. "Dan" Edwards, chairman of the Virginia Beach school board, said in an interview with TMCnet today about AlertNow.

“It’s a very valuable tool,” Edwards added. “Obviously, it was very helpful this morning.”

Virginia Beach was beginning to stir again later Friday morning as a weakened Hurricane Earl made its way up the East Coast, headed toward Cape Cod and later the Canadian Maritimes.

Virginia Beach escaped serious damage from the storm, and The Associated Press (News - Alert) reported that few businesses along Atlantic Avenue that boarded up windows were removing sheets of plywood Friday morning as visitors began making their way down to the boardwalk and the impressive surf.

In addition, North Carolina’s Carteret County Community College was closed Thursday and Friday due to Hurricane Earl. The college posted updated closing information on the college’s website; through student e-mail; and on Blackboard.

Likewise, when Hurricane Ike struck La Porte, Texas in 2008, Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Suggs used the Blackboard Connect service to send more than 227,000 messages to residents. During the course of Ike, La Porte sent messages to urge evacuation in the face of the storm; to set curfews and deploy personnel and volunteers in the storm's wake; and to manage cleanup and recovery in the weeks that followed.

"When they have critical information to communicate, leaders shouldn't have to wonder if their mass notification service will work reliably and quickly, or if they can afford to send a critical alert," said Ed Miller, president of Blackboard Connect. "Even when storms have knocked the power out, our redundant systems help school and community leaders reach families across multiple communications channels. It's a point of pride for us that Blackboard Connect mass notification solutions are ready when our clients need them most."