Steps UNH has taken to Prepare for Disasters & Emergencies
UNH has established a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that will guide the University’s response to any disaster or emergency situation. The EOP identifies an operational structure and outlines basic operational procedures that shall direct the response of those individuals and departments that would, in general course, be called upon to assist in responding to an emergency. Testing and refinement of the plan is ongoing. The University's Core Emergency Group meets periodically, and also whenever the national terror threat alert level rises, to coordinate the University's activities in response to the alert level.
Levels of Emergency
In all emergencies, preparation before hand is one of the fundamental tenets toward mitigating the effects of any emergency. The Office of Environmental Health and Safety has developed an Emergency Procedures Program to assist our campus departments in responding to and recovering from a variety of emergency situations. These events may include fires, bomb threats, hazardous material spills, medical emergencies and natural emergencies.
For the framework of University emergency planning, different levels of emergencies are identified. These levels establish the fact that all emergencies, whether minor or major, human or property related, have a place within a university emergency continuum. It establishes, as well, the context of different emergencies and assists in the identification of a proper response.
LEVEL 1 - A minor department or building incident that can be resolved by the responding service unit or affected department.
LEVEL 2 - A department or building incident that can be resolved with existing University resources or limited outside help. A Level 2 incident is usually a one-dimensional event of limited duration and impact.
LEVEL 3 - Situations that are primarily people, rather than infrastructure focused. In particular, many student issues can become quite complex because of varied institutional and student support responses that must be coordinated.
LEVEL 4 - A major emergency that impacts a sizable portion of the campus and that may involve the outside community. Level 4 emergencies may be single or multi-hazard situations.
LEVEL 5 - A catastrophic emergency event involving the entire campus and surrounding community. Immediate resolution of the disaster, which is usually multi-hazard, is beyond the emergency response capabilities of campus. A level 4 or 5 emergency will automatically activate this UNH-EOP. Activation for a lower level emergency will be based upon need as identified in this plan.
Publications
Emergency Guide (pdf)
This resource is distributed to all faculty, staff, and students.
Emergency Procedures
Program (pdf)
Details the emergency procedured at UNH.
Emergency
Preparedness Program Brochure (pdf)
An overview of individual responsibilities during an emergency.
Emergency
Evacuation Drills (pdf)
An overview of individuals responsibilities during
a building evacuation.