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Emergency Protocols

Loyola University New Orleans has developed an Emergency Management Team (EMT) who is responsible for coordinating all preparation efforts for potential natural disasters, monitoring weather, determining action needed by the university in inclement emergency situations, and communicating with all members of the community. For more information on this team, visit the Emergency Response Team webpage.

With the help of the National Weather Service, Homeland Security, and Impact Weather (who provides personalized daily updates on tropical weather activity in the Gulf of Mexico), the university will continuously monitor tropical weather patterns in the Gulf regions. If tropical weather is predicted for the New Orleans area, the EMT will determine what steps are necessary to ensure the safety of all community members. The following are possible actions the university may take:

  • Normal Operations – No threat
  • Suspended Operations – Low threat
  • Suspended Operations & Sheltering in Place – Medium threat
  • Campus Evacuation – High threat

The university advises families to obtain additional information from local and national news sources in order to make personal decisions regarding action for inclement weather. The following are recommended news sources that can be utilized when making personal evacuation decisions:

Due to the unpredictable nature of tropical weather, the university can never guarantee the path of a storm or the impact it might have. Therefore, families should always make personal decisions regarding the safety of the student and enact evacuations plans as they see fit.

Families should discuss the details of potential evacuation plans and update the student’s plan on their LORA account each year. It is important to know that travel will likely be delayed or altered due to tropical weather and students should anticipate driving time in/around/out of the city will likely be at least twice as long as it would normally be, especially if the city establishes contraflow (see below in the resource section for more information).

To review our departmental guidelines for Tropical Weather and Hurricane Preparedness click below: