A web page for the health and safety of everyone on campus, presented by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Safety Council and the Office of Institutional Advancement. For general information associated with this site, please contact Environmental Health & Safety at (713) 500-8100.

Hurricane and Flood Preparedness

Hurricane season is upon us and now is the time to ensure you are prepared for severe weather. Hurricane season lasts through November. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), on average 10 named storms are recorded each year. Reports indicate we may be in store for more storms than ordinary this season.

With the likely hood of a storm making landfall in our area, it is important that we are prepared. The health science center has made great strides in Hurricane and Flood Preparedness since Tropical Storm Allison. Facilities Planning and Engineering has identified problematic and flood prone areas around the health science center and has plans in place to mitigate potential damage.

New roofs have been placed on the School of Public Health, the University Center Tower, the Operations Center Building, and construction is set to begin this month on a new roof for the Medical School Building.
The Medical School Building Perimeter Flood Wall Project will be completed over the next month with the installation of the last submarine doors located on the loading dock and column line 6 in the basement.
A Perimeter Berm Project is currently in the construction phase around the Medical School and Cyclotron Facility. It is due to be completed this fall.
Due to potential flooding around the Operations Center Building, a procedure has been developed to use the building PA system to inform occupants of flooding.

However, not all flood preparations rest in the hands of Facilities Planning and Engineering.

It is the responsibility of each department to have a departmental emergency plan.
This plan should include procedures for:

preparing labs and offices in the event of a hurricane,
backing up research data and separating and duplicating samples, and
any special procedures needed to secure sensitive equipment, among other items.

It is up to each department to have supplies on hand to prepare their areas for inclement weather. Facilities personnel have the responsibility to protect the entire campus during inclement weather and will not be available to assist individual departments. It is up to each department to ensure that they are adequately prepared.

When severe weather occurs, health science center faculty, staff and students should call the weather lines to find out whether or not the university or specific operating unit is open:

Faculty, staff, and students with offices or classes at the Medical School, John Freeman Building, the University of Texas Professional Building, Cyclotron facility, or Jesse Jones Library Building should call (713) 500-7999.
Harris County Psychiatric Center faculty, staff, and students working in the clinic should call (713) 741-5001.
Employees and students at all other health science center sites should call (713) 500-9996.

Employees and students may also check the university's web site at http://www.uth.tmc.edu or radio stations KILT (610 AM); KILT (100.3 FM); KPRC (950 AM); and KTRH (740 AM) or television channels KHOU-TV 11, KPRC-TV 2, KTMD-TV 48, KTRK-TV 13, and KXLN-TV 45.

In the event of conflicting or confusing information in the broadcast media regarding whether a specific operating unit is closed, employees should call the weather line or their immediate supervisor for instructions. Supervisors should have contact numbers of all of their direct reports and all employees should have contact numbers of their supervisor.

If the institution is declared officially open, all employees will be expected to report to work. Employees who do not report to work because of inclement weather or have to leave work early will need to coordinate with their supervisors and will be expected to use vacation time or take leave without pay. Employees are expected to call their supervisors to advise them of their situations if at all possible.

To review procedures to follow in the event of inclement weather, please refer to the Emergency Situation Response Plan at http://www.uth.tmc.edu/safety/emergency.html, your specific departmental plan, and the Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOOP).

By Julie Lucas, Environmental Health & Safety

Date Posted: 06/20/2005