The 2009 hurricane season is rapidly approaching, and Rice’s Crisis Management Team (CMT) has a plan in place that will help the university respond to and recover from a windstorm-type disaster as safely and efficiently as possible.

If a hurricane hits, Rice will be closed, and the university’s priorities in responding to the event will be as follows:

1. Ensure the safety of our community of students, faculty and staff
2. Preserve and protect our research, facilities and university assets
3. Resume the teaching and education of our students

In order to make the most informed decisions possible, the CMT will use notifications from ImpactWeather Weather Forecasting Solutions to help guide its response plans.

 

Sheltering Policy

In the event of a storm threat, many departments across the university will begin preparing to implement the university’s sheltering policy, which is part of Rice’s Hurricane Preparedness Plan. In general, the sheltering policy’s guidelines for the 2009 hurricane season are as follows:

1. All undergraduates will be offered on-campus shelter, regardless of whether they currently live on or off campus.
2. Only those graduate students with housing agreements at the Rice Graduate Apartments or the Rice Village Apartments will be offered on-campus shelter.
3. Unless designated as an essential employee of the “rideout” team, faculty and staff will not be sheltered on campus.

 

Shutdown Procedures

When a hurricane is imminent, members of the Rice community should consider how best to protect the assets related to their specific areas and circumstances. Some of these procedures might relate to office shutdown, computer shutdown, laboratory shutdown and special collections protection. For general guidelines on shutdown procedures, please refer to the Rice University Emergency Information Web site at emergency.rice.edu.

If Rice closes due to a hurricane, students, faculty and staff should try to stay informed of the university’s status and requirements for resuming operations. This information will be provided through several outlets, including TV, radio, text messages, e-mail distributions, the Rice University Emergency Information Web site and the Rice University automated telephone line, which can be reached at
713-348-8888.

If you receive media inquiries related to the hurricane, please direct them to Rice’s Director of News and Media Relations B.J. Almond at 713-348-6770 or balmond@rice.edu.

For more information on emergency preparedness or to access educational materials and basic disaster-kit checklists based on FEMA’s in-depth citizen preparedness guide, please visit the Rice University Emergency Information Web site at emergency.rice.edu.