The first step in preparing for severe weather is committing to a plan. Students, faculty and staff should be ready for the unexpected by developing personal emergency plans. Talk with your family about what to do in an emergency while at UNC-Chapel Hill. When the time comes, everyone should be prepared to act.
Build Your Emergency Plan in Advance
Your emergency plan should cover key details, including:
How You’ll Stay in Touch
- Can you recall important phone numbers without your phone? Keep a written contact card in your wallet, purse, or backpack with essential numbers, including family, friends, doctors, and childcare providers.
- Designate an out-of-area emergency contact. If local networks are overwhelmed, long-distance calls or texts may go through more easily.
- Plan alternate communication methods—such as meeting at a specific location or using social media—if phone service is disrupted.
- Make sure your family, friends and roommates know your plan.
Where You’ll Go to Stay Safe
- Learn evacuation routes from buildings you frequently visit. Do you know two ways out in case of a fire? Where is your designated Assembly Area?
- Decide where you would go if you had to leave campus—your hometown, a friend’s house, or a nearby relative’s home.
- Plan your transportation. If your hometown is far away, do you have a travel buddy or a backup option? If you have a car, could you offer rides to others heading the same way?
- If your home is overseas, consider staying with friends or relatives in another part of the country in case international travel is restricted.
- Keep emergency cash on hand for travel expenses like gas, food, or transportation.
- Have a backup plan in case you can’t travel as expected.
How You’ll Stay Informed
- Sign up for Alert Carolina and learn how to Be Informed through official University communications.
- Enroll in local emergency alert systems, available through most city or county governments.
- Keep a contact card with your name, any special medical needs, and emergency contacts—one nearby and one further away.
- Store emergency contacts in your phone under “I.C.E.” (In Case of Emergency). If you have children, include their childcare provider’s information. Some phones have I.C.E. apps to store this info.
- Share your emergency plan with your family and friends and learn their plans as well.
How You’ll Respond in an Emergency
- Understand emergency procedures for situations that could occur on campus. Know when to evacuate versus when to shelter in place.
- Talk with roommates, friends, and co-workers about how to handle different emergencies. Be prepared no matter where you are—your dorm, classroom, dining hall, or workplace.
- Print and display an emergency procedures poster in your dorm or office. Review other available preparedness resources.
Don’t wait until severe weather strikes—create your emergency plan now. Find more resources at go.unc.edu/makeaplan.
