Hurricanes

1. How often have we evacuated the campus due to a storm or hurricane?

The campus has evacuated 3-4 times in the last 15 years. We are very safety conscious. The storm that we evacuated for in each of those situations made landfall outside of the Galveston area.

2. What is the evacuation route in the event of a storm and if it is blocked off, what other route can they take?

Generally, students will evacuate through the Interstate 45 corridor (toward Houston). We will provide students the best information that we have when we call for an evacuation. Because we often evacuate much earlier than other agencies, our students may reach their destination before the storm is impacting travel. However, once on the road, the student should monitor local radio to ensure their safe travel.

3. If they evacuate, do we ask the students to pack their belongings or is there something we provide for storage?

The University cannot take responsibility for student belongings. Students are urged to take valuables with them. We do ask that students clean out refrigerators prior to departure to avoid rotting food in the event that campus loses electricity.

Homeowners insurance may cover student possessions in a campus room. Check with your insurance company for information.

4.  What type of internal communication is used to get the word out to the campus community?

The primary method for emergency communication on campus will be through E2 Campus -- a state of the art notification system that can send both text messages and e-mails to recipients.  All students should register with E2 Campus through our website, http://www.tamug.edu/news/EmergencyCommunications.htm.

Additionally, a variety of methods to communicate information about hurricanes will also be used to support an E2 Campus broadcast.  Besides the campus web site and campus e-mail, we have found word-of-mouth to be extremely effective.  In addition, we use the Community Leaders to help communicate such information within our residence halls.