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Campus safety and security for tornadoes
Campus Safety tips to consider
What to do after a tornado may hit campus
IDentifyED provides information and communication to secure your campus during a tornado

Campus safety and security for tornadoes

When a tornado threat is issued, this is a very real concern for your campus safety and security you must act quickly to ensure the safety of yourself and others. Seconds count.

You should always follow your campus’s safety plan. Here are our recommended campus tornado procedures:

  • Stay away from windows and large open rooms, such as auditoriums and gyms.
  • Remain calm and travel to your designated safe place.
  • Crouch low to the floor.
  • Protect the back of your head with your arms.

Campus safety tips to consider:

  • Act fast. Tornadoes form with little to no warning.
  • Have an evacuation plan in place for students and faculty in portable classrooms.
  • Make special provisions for disabled students.
  • If you are on an upper floor, immediately take the stairs to the lowest level.
  • Flying debris is the greatest tornado hazard. Attempt to locate a safe area free of windows and glass, such as an interior hallway, room, or corridor that is not exposed to the outside.

What to do after a storm threat may hit campus:

  • Assemble in a calm manner in a safe location away from power lines, puddles containing power lines, emergency traffic areas, broken glass, sharp debris, or any other hazards.
  • Keep everyone away from damaged areas of the campus, as the building may collapse.
  • Carefully render aid to those who are injured.
  • Ensure no one uses matches, lighters, or other flammable materials in case of nearby fuel tanks or leaking natural gas pipes.

Severe weather may strike at any time, with little to no warning.

Do you have more than one way to receive a warning?

IDentifyED provides information and communication to secure your campus.

1Do not put yourself in harm’s way for any reason, stay safe.

2Typically, but not always you will be told to find shelter, or bathroom or a room with no windows.

3Tornados can come quickly it is important for your safety to find shelter immediately.

4If you witness or experience a tornado make a help request immediately, if possible add text and a picture.

5Swipe up on your IDentifyED app to find you campus’s safety and security for tornadoes procedures, your procedures should tell you where good tornado shelters are available on campus.

6Swipe left on the ID screen of IDentifyed and you will come to your campuses’ custom app, the campus/campus may have added additional links there as well as potential systems or sources of information.

7Tornados may affect only a small area or a large community. The IDentifyED system has integration into the I Love U Guys Foundation’s standard response procedures, these procedures will tell people how you need to respond and reduce panic during a tornado.

8If you need help use the IDentifyED 911 or other type of help request to make a help request this will direct you to specific campus response personnel on IDentifyED and explain to the dispatcher the issue. Campus resources might be the best place to call for help on your campus. If for any reason you are not able to get in touch with campus resources, do not hesitate to dial 911 on your phone.

9Emergency personnel during a tornado with IDentifyED can also involve or escalate to additional personnel as well as any emergency responders.

10Emergency responders will also maintain and update critical event message boards about the tornado, that will allow everyone in the campus to get the most critical and up-to-date information.

11If you need help or others need help during the tornado, you can make additional help requests that might document additional assistance and additional people who might be injured during the tornado.

12For schools using IDentifyed; During a tornado, it is possible that you will be in class make certain that attendance is taken by the teacher as you seek shelter.

13Everyone should try to check into a location/room, event, group or transportation so that emergency responders know where everyone is.

14Look for updates to the locations as well, perhaps the campus will add shelter locations so that you can accurately share your shelter location with friends, family and of course emergency responders.

15If you check-in, and then need help — emergency responders will be able to respond to your specific location with much better detail. For example, during a tornado it is possible that you are in a shelter in the basement of a 20-story building. If you need assistance, your IDentifyED reported longitude and latitude will only tell the responders what building you are in, a good check-in will help them narrow it down the floor and room, so that they can find you.

16If you are handicapped during a tornado, in any way and the elevators are disabled or there is a power outage. Make a handicapped help request with your specific checked in location (many campuses have designated handicapped assistance areas for you to check into.)

17Once the Tornado is not a threat — emergency personnel will either broadcast out an all clear or begin reunification procedures.

18If an all clear is sent during a tornado assume that there will be additional information that may need to be shared, stay sheltered until you are able to get assurance that it is safe.

19After a tornado please report any and all personal injury or other issues through IDentifyED’s help request feature.

20After a tornado please report any damage to property or safety concerns via the IDentifyED Help request feature.

21For school’s using IDentifyED, If a reunification process is called for after a tornado, monitor the IDentifyED critical event message boards as well as all emergency broadcasts.

22Follow the instructions from emergency responders.

23For school’s using IDentifyED, during a tornado reunification you should be told where to report to. It is possible that traditional/anticipated buildings or rally points are not safe to shelter or meet at so it is important to listen to and follow the directions of emergency responders.

24For school’s using IDentifyED, When arriving at a reunification area, make certain you check-in or are checked in to that location.

25For school’s using IDentifyED, Parents should follow reunification procedures during a tornado reunification. Parents should be instructed as to what will occur by campus personnel please follow the directions you are being given.

26After a tornado, you may experience power outages and damage that may result in the campus or campus being closed. IDentifyED is housed offsite from your campus so IDentifyED should remain online during any and all emergencies. As long as you can get to internet services you should be able to get to IDentifyED. For this reason, during an emergency it is very likely that IDentifyED will be your campuses best means to communicate.

27Continue to monitor IDentifyED emergency broadcasts, campus news and alerts as well as critical event boards after the tornado because campuses will need to update you on when campus will reopen and any other additional information.

28After a tornado, IDentifyed may also be used to update everyone and any group events, projects or assignments, look for these updates on IDentifyED first in order to minimize and optimize communications. It is likely that many parties will update calendars, message boards, send messages and provide additional updates via portfolios.

29IDentifyED’s many communication resources like user portfolios, messaging, message boards, calendars, chat, group chat, emergency broadcast, campus-wide news and alerts will all be used during and after a tornado. So, monitor IDentifyED and use IDentifyED as your primary source of information.