|
Hurricanes and other powerful storms are a natural part of life for
anyone living along the Gulf Coast of the United States of America.
As was evident in the days following Hurricane Katrina (August 29,
2005), the Notre Dame Seminary community needs to be prepared to deal
with any and all weather related challenges that might come our way.
With this in mind, the following Emergency Preparedness Procedures have
been adopted as official NDS policy beginning with the 2006-2007
academic year:
A) In the event of a Mandatory Evacuation Order for the
City of New Orleans (Category 2 hurricane or greater), Notre Dame
Seminary will not be used as a shelter. Therefore,
all NDS seminarians, resident priests, faculty, staff and guests will
need to take personal responsibility for making individual arrangements
for both his/her transportation out of the city as
well as his/her housing outside of the path of the storm. It
is imperative that each person's evacuation travel and housing plans are
in place at the very beginning of the Fall semester. Please, DO
NOT WAIT for a storm to enter the Gulf to start your evacuation planning
& preparation!
NOTE: Each Class President is charged with confirming
the transportation and housing evacuation arrangements for his
classmates by Friday of the first week of class. The SA
Vice-President is charged with confirming the evacuation arrangements
for the 1st Year and the Pre-Theology classes. Please do not be
anxious if you are unsure about your evacuation plans - the Rector is
prepared to help any member of the NDS community find safe shelter.
CHECKLIST of personal belongings you might want to take with you
if we are required to evacuated:
- Clothes (enough for one week).
- Books and study materials (the #1 regret of students after
Katrina: "I wish that I'd brought my books!").
- Bible, breviary, rosary, spiritual reading, etc.
- Computer (at least your flash/zip drive, backup disks, or CPU).
- Personal medicines, especially prescription medicines (bring the
original bottle/prescription for easy refills).
- Eye glasses/contacts or other critical personal items (e.g.
sleep apnea breathing machine, insulin pump, etc.)
- Important documents (e.g. drivers license, passport, visas,
etc.) as well as credit/calling cards & cash.
- Copies of seminary contact information (e.g. emergency phone #'s
and websites) and your NDS ID Card.
- YOUR CARS! Do not leave your vehicle here, and do not wait
until the last minute to fill it up with gas!
Other things do do before evacuating:
- Move your bike or other belongings UP from the ground floor
level, in either building, to your room.
- UNPLUG all electrical equipment (e.g. computer, TV, stereo,
etc.).
- MOVE any sensitive equipment or non-waterproof furniture away
from your windows.
- EMPTY and DEFROST your refrigerator. (Leave the door of
the fridge propped open for air circulation.)
- Leave the lights OFF, the Air Conditioner ON, CLOSE your windows
and LOCK your door upon departure.
- Leave your evacuation contact information (e.g. address,
phone#'s) with the Rector's office before departure.
B) It is important to remember that even "minor" storms can be
dangerous and can hit with little or no warning. Although these
storms might not require us to evacuate, they can knock out electrical
power and might limit our water supply. Therefore, all
residents of the seminary will be required to secure - and to keep on
hand through the school year - the following items:
a) 3 gallons of personal drinking water, b) A working
flashlight with extra batteries and a spare bulb, c) Personal
snacks. Also - all residents who require prescription medications
are reminded to maintain at least a month's supply of these critical
drugs. Reminder: Storm outages can last from as little as a
few hours to as long as a few days - so PLEASE BE PREPARED!
NDS EMERGENCY PHONE #: (318) 636-3833
Link
to:
Emergency Management Department
Archdiocese
of New Orleans |
