Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:
The National Weather Service predicts that the North Carolina coast may feel the effects of Hurricane Joaquin by this weekend. The impact on central North Carolina, including the Triangle area, remains uncertain.
University officials are closely monitoring reports from emergency management agencies and state officials and taking precautions to keep the campus community safe and well-informed about changes in weather conditions that may impact the local area. Updates will be made to the campus community as conditions warrant.
While we don’t expect Hurricane Joaquin to affect campus operations, if conditions change, look for announcements on http://www.unc.edu/, http://www.alertcarolina.unc.edu/ and through other communications including text messages, if the situation warrants. If you have not registered your cell phone to receive text messages about emergencies from the University, go to www.alertcarolina.unc.edu and click on “Register Your Cell Phone.”
We also remind everyone that weather conditions such as this can produce dangerous situations on roadways and sidewalks, and if conditions worsen, downed powerlines and tree branches can be expected on Campus throughways. Be cautious of flooded walkways and roadways and do not approach downed powerlines. Stay away from storm drains and drainage systems that can have quick moving storm runoff water. Also be careful to watch out for missing manhole covers or other ground-level dangers. Stay inside and don’t play outside if these serious conditions are encountered. If you cannot see the roadway or walk way, do not go through it. Turn around, don’t drown. For additional details about being safe and secure when faced with serious storms, please visit: http://tadd.weather.gov/.
For now, we ask that students contact their families to share information about where they plan to be in the event of a storm and how they can be reached. We also encourage you to tell family and friends now about the American Red Cross Safe and Well List website, so they will know how to get your “safe and well” message in an emergency. If an emergency affects the Carolina campus, you can register as “safe and well” by going to www.redcross.org/safeandwell and following the registration instructions. Concerned family and friends can search the list to read your message.
In addition, we urge everyone to visit
http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/hurricanes.html to review basic information about how to prepare for a hurricane.
For more campus safety information, see https://alertcarolina.unc.edu//.
In the event of the need for emergency assistance on the UNC campus, please call 9-1-1. In a non-emergency, contact UNC Public Safety at 919-962-8100.
About Informational Messages: The University sends an Informational Message to inform the campus community about a situation that is not an emergency but is expected to be of significant interest to the campus. An Informational Message is one of three tiers of communication under the University’s revised emergency communications plan. Emergency Warning refers to a siren activation for a significant emergency. And a Timely Warning is issued if there is a continuing danger AND notification will not compromise law enforcement.