Stella Falkin

With hurricanes Milton and Helene ripping through the American South and devastating communities, disaster readiness has been creeping into people’s minds. One only needs to turn on the news for a few minutes to see the consequences of being caught unprepared. 

While Florida seems far away and hurricanes unlikely, Central Texas presents its own set of challenges — such as the 2021 Valentine’s Day power crisis and devastating flooding and fires. It only takes one of these disasters to interrupt everyday services like grocery stores and roadways and leave you cut off from other resources. UT students need to take it upon themselves to be prepared for any emergency situation that comes their way.

The first step in being prepared is making a plan. For those who grew up in Tornado Alley, this meant knowing what interior room to go to when sirens went off. With a number of students who are new to Central Texas, it is important they ask building managers if there is a storm shelter or other emergency structure. There isn’t exactly time to play Dora the Explorer when a tornado is bearing down on you. 

The second step is gathering what you need. This means being ready to live without power or transportation for several days. When asked if she felt prepared for an emergency at her off-campus apartment, mathematics sophomore McKenzie Brown said, “Absolutely not.”

This state of underpreparedness is not uncommon. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research, 74% of college students have not taken any prior courses to prepare for any type of disaster. In these catastrophic instances, UT Emergency Management can help. 

“We have a checklist on our website that has recommended items that students should keep in their emergency supply kit, and guidelines about how to build one from scratch,” said Scott Filip, communications manager for UT Emergency Management. 

These kits don’t have to be purchased all at once for students on a tight budget and can be gathered together over time. 

“Have stocks of water and food because you don’t know how long that’s going to (last),” Brown said.

Filip also reminded students to write things down. If power outages are extended, your phone could die and you could lose access to all the valuable resources it offers. In addition to having a paper map, Filip said students should “make an emergency communications plan and have those important phone numbers in case you don’t have phone numbers memorized.”

This can look like having your parents, friends and emergency numbers written down somewhere in your living space, as well as having a battery radio to keep updated with local announcements from emergency management. 

This can all seem overwhelming at first, and a little silly. After all, why should you — a student — have seven days of shelf-stable food in your dorm? Being prepared and seeing long-term risks is part of growing into adulthood. Building those habits now can protect you in the future, wherever you end up.

Students should start getting prepared now. It starts with something as small as buying a flashlight or a pack of batteries. With our changing climate and natural disasters becoming more frequent, it’s important steps like these that students can take to keep themselves safe. 

Oppenheimer is an economics sophomore from Flower Mound, Texas.