The fall semester has returned and although UC Irvine doesn’t start session for a few more weeks many students are getting themselves organized and prepared for another academic year. Likewise, many of our UC Irvine faculty and staff have sons and daughters that have already returned to college or are beginning their first year. In any event, college students, in particular those students that move great distances from home to attend school are a unique audience from a disaster preparedness standpoint. Some might even argue that college students are a vulnerable population as it relates to disasters and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree. Think about it, college students typically have limited financial resources, a lack of sufficient living space (for supplies), the absence of reliable transportation, and oftentimes a heavy dependency on pre-paid services to meet their basic needs (i.e. meals, healthcare, etc.) Do any of these sound familiar to our student population out there?
Although some of these inherent qualities of college life may place students at a greater level of vulnerability than the general population, there are certainly some proactive measures that can be taken to better prepare this audience to respond effectively to disasters while away at college. Some of these include:
• Making sure they update their cell phone contacts and add an “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) number in their contact list. Students should keep in mind that cell phone service may be unreliable in the aftermath of a disaster. Texting or communicating via social media may be possible when phone calls are not.
• These days, most colleges have emergency plans that outline procedures in the event of a natural or manmade disaster. Students and parents should check the college’s website to see if its plans are posted. If not, call the admissions officer to request a copy of the plan. Also, students should confirm that they are registered with the school’s emergency notification system. UC Irvine makes both its Emergency Operations Plan and Emergency Communications Plan available on the Zot Portal @
https://portal.uci.edu/uPortal/f/u30l1s6/p/webproxy-cms-file-view.u30l1n140/max/render.uP?pP_cmsUri=public%2FMainMenuEmergencyManagement.xml
Also, all students at UC Irvine are automatically signed up for Zot Alert (the campus mass notification system) when they register for classes. Anybody else that is interested in signing up that has not yet done so can register @ http://www.oit.uci.edu/zotalert/
• Students should prepare an emergency information sheet listing the names, locations and phone numbers for family members, physicians, medical insurance, and other important resources.
• Parents should check with their homeowners’ insurance agency to see if their policy covers their student’s belongings at school. If not, they may need to purchase an additional rental policy to cover items in their student’s dorm room.
• Having a disaster readiness kit on hand can go a long way toward keeping students’ safe and feeling secure in a challenging situation. A kit can be as simple as a backpack containing items like a flashlight, a small radio, extra batteries, a solar-powered or hand-cranked cell phone charger, energy bars, water and first aid supplies. Students are advised to keep their emergency kit under the bed, hanging on a bed post, or on the top shelf of a closet where it will be easily accessible in an emergency.
• Ready-made disaster kits designed for students can be ordered from the American Red Cross at www.redcrossstore.org. Information on compiling your own disaster readiness kit is available on the web at www.fema.gov.
• A family communications plan should be developed between the student and his/her family so that he or she will know how/where to get in touch with their family at any time, or where to leave a message if communications between home and school are disrupted.
• For more information on building a basic disaster kit and developing a family communications plan, go to www.ready.gov.
Remember that weathering a disaster can be similar to passing a challenging midterm in that it requires doing your homework, taking initiative, and being prepared for anything covered on the exam.
Be Smart. Take Part. Prepare.
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