Erika Pernis, Senior News Reporter
August 28, 2024
The National Weather Service will renew the University’s weather emergency preparedness certification on Aug. 31 for the next four years.
StormReady helps communities develop plans for extreme weather and highlights communities that have shown proactive approaches against extreme weather, including creating weather monitoring systems and hosting seminars promoting public readiness. The University originally received this certification in 2011.
Troy Kimmel, instant response meteorologist at the Office of Emergency Management, said the University has weather stations with cameras allowing them to report temperature, storm and rainfall information to the National Weather Service. The Office of Emergency Management also updated its Longhorn Alert system to automatically opt-in students, faculty and staff to receive messages on public safety concerns around the community, including inclement weather, according to the Office’s website.
“When you (have) a university with 50,000 plus undergraduates, and it’s such a tremendous footprint in the community, you can’t afford to be anything but proactive,” Kimmel said.
An integral part of the StormReady certification is an emphasis on community preparedness, and the University held 18 training sessions and 16 outreach events for students, faculty and staff to learn how to prepare for different types of emergency weather situations on campus, said Scott Filip, the communications, marketing and outreach manager for the Office.
Filip said emergency preparedness protocols on campus look different depending on the type of extreme weather.
“It’s summertime right now, we can talk about extreme heat,” Scott said. “(We) put out messaging and make sure that we’re communicating with the campus community on what (they) should be doing to prepare for heat-related illnesses … staying hydrated, taking breaks, if you’re working outside in the shade, wearing loose, light-colored, thick clothing, stuff like that.”
Since last spring, UT Outpost, the University’s food pantry, is looking to create emergency food bags filled with nonperishable items and place them at different locations on campus that would remain open in emergencies, even if the Outpost has to close its physical location, said Valeria Martin, assistant director for basic needs. Previously, the Outpost closed for extreme weather events, like winter storms and freezes, Martin said.
“Our main priority is to look out for our students,” Martin said. “At least here in UT Outpost, being that our mission is ensuring that we can combat food insecurity and help students access food, having an emergency preparedness plan is important because then we can continue to make the mission of this space happen.”
