Hi Derek,
     I really appreciate your thinking of us during this challenging time. As you've seen from the media footage (and perhaps my own social media posts), this has been an extraordinary event for us, with as much as 20" of rain falling in less than 2 days. The results for Columbia have been catastrophic, and we continue to struggle with extensive damage to our infrastructure and a lack of potable water for more than 100,000 people (we just got ours in Ballentine back today). Schools, including USC, have been closed all week.
    That said, the university itself suffered no damage and is faring relatively well. Students have volunteered at local relief efforts, and USC staff have worked to make campus as safe as possible for students forced to remain on-campus. The Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute, which Susan directs, has been assisting SC Emergency Management with their responses, and many Geography students, staff and faculty are volunteering in whatever ways possible to assist in helping flood victims. While a number of Geography students, staff and faculty have suffered losses from the flooding, none have been catastrophic as they have mostly involved flooded basements and similar issues. For that, we're all very thankful.
    I certainly appreciate your offer of assistance, but the department itself is fine. The same cannot be said of our larger community where the worst might be over, but the effects will be felt for a long time as cleanup and repairs will take months to complete. There will be many relief needs during that time, so if others want to help out, the best thing would be to direct their support through outlets assisting those affected by the storms and flooding. The Red Cross and the United Way (https://www.uway.org/news/flood-disaster-relief-fund) both have established programs for channeling money to where it's needed.
    One of the great things about being a geographer is the sense of community that we share. For example, I remember similar outpourings of concern for those in the Geography Departments at Alabama and Southern Miss following the Tuscaloosa tornadoes and Hurricane Katrina. I truly appreciate your interest in helping out members of my department and community. Hopefully, we can catch up in Pensacola. Sincerely,
John

___________________
John Kupfer, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Dept. of Geography
Univ. of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208

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803-777-5234