The April 27 tornado was one of the worst storms in Alabama history. With the realization that anything can happen, the University has plans in place to prepare for such happenings in the future.
“The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority,” UA Spokeswoman Cathy Andreen said. “We have, and had before the tornado, comprehensive emergency plans in place to deal with any crisis that may occur on campus.”
One thing that students are recognizing more is the announcement system in dormitories. The PA systems are there to alert students of bad weather conditions and to notify residents of precautions that should be taken. These systems are also in academic buildings, and UA is in the process of installing external systems around the Quad and other high traffic areas.
James Landry, a Riverside North resident, said e He is
he is glad the University is taking these types of measures to ensure student safety.
“I’m glad that the University is trying to streamline communication across all levels,” said Landry, a junior majoring in marine science. “We quickly discovered that there were serious problems in that area after the tornado last semester.”
In relation to classroom tornado policies, students believe teachers have been paying more attention to bad weather information in syllabi and communication has evolved.
“Teachers have been using websites and email to communicate with the students more and to have a backup source for information, which is definitely a positive step,” Landry said.
Andreen said, “Faculty have been encouraged to include the severe weather guidelines in their syllabi for a couple of years. The guidelines are also in the academic planner and other UA publications.”
Along with the PA systems, Andreen said in case of an emergency situation the University will notify students, faculty and staff with one or more of the following methods: UA Alerts, emails, social media, media alerts, UA website, digital signs around campus, CrimsonRide and the campus cable network.
To prepare for the possibility of other severe weather, Andreen encourages students to be familiar with the severe weather guidelines found at uanews.ua.edu/weather. The guidelines state information such as the university suspending all activities in case of a tornado warning, when classes resume, or when to begin following a tornado warning and when move to the lowest level and toward the center of a building until the warning is expired.
