Evacuating Your College Housing Due to Hurricanes or Other Natural Disasters

No one wants to think about it, but sometimes hurricanes and even blizzards occur early in the fall semester at college. If your housing is closing, you want to be able to get out as quickly as you can, while you still can choose your own destination and transportation method. As students in New Orleans learned the hard way after Katrina in 2005, their three-day hurricane break turned into a 5-month or more total evacuation. There have been no such widespread evacuations since them, but it is wise to have a plan in place. Administration Universities have learned many lessons from the disasters of the past few years, and have shared their findings with one another. There is always difficulty in deciding when to cancel classes. Premature actions are seen as wasteful (of time and money), but delay can limit options such as air travel or efficient highway travel. Student safety is of the utmost concern. Housing staff and RAs are equipped to assist students in evacuation plans. Communications Universities have sophisticated communications systems. Social media, official and unofficial, is a major factor also. Parents have access to college websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and emergency alerts to smart phones. Shelter If some of the college housing buildings are at risk, colleges will arrange for temporary shelter on or near campus. These may not be private accommodations, but more emergency shelter style. Transportation Students who have cars and whose families live within a reasonable distance can usually simply drive home. They should start driving as soon as the school announces a closing, for personal safety and to avoid flood damage to the vehicle. Some families may want their students to fly home, or away from the threat. Outbound flights may fill up quickly and taxi service to airports may be reduced. Colleges may provide busses to take students to other colleges a few hours away in a safe direction. What to Pack As Tulane students found out the hard way during Katrina, t-shirts, flip-flops and cutoffs were not enough to bring home for a semester. Some of the dorms were absolutely off-limits for months, while others were used to house emergency workers. (Residents belongings were merely boxed up and stored away). When mentally planning an evacuation bag, ask yourself what you own that would be difficult or expensive to replace if you were away for a long time. Consider: * Drivers license, passport, school ID * Room key, car keys * Eyeglasses * Contact lenses * Prescription drugs, written prescriptions * Dental retainers * Cell phones, tablet computers, laptops * Portable media (flash drives) with school work * Custom footwear * Underwear, expensive bras Take all of your contact lenses and prescription drugs, not just a few sets like for a weekend trip. If you own a bicycle and can fit it into your car, thats a smart thing to take with you. Remember your helmet. It makes sense to travel in long jeans, a few layers of shirts or hoodies, a rain jacket, and sturdy running shoes. If you find yourself stopping for a few hours, or overnight, you will feel safer covered up. Cash Sometimes even when stores have reopened after major storms, their credit-card processing capability is impaired. ATM machines run out of cash during emergencies. Get yourself enough cash to safely live on, but try to use debit or credit cards when you can. Remember that roadside towing companies sometimes only accept cash. Most college students will never need to use these tips, but the ones who do will be glad that they planned their exits.