Emergency Closing of Residence Halls (Continued)
If classes are suspended and the campus is closed because of an extreme emergency (e.g., illness outbreak, pandemic flu, extended power outage):
- You will be expected to activate the personal plan you made for emergency closing and leave the campus within 24-48 hours
- Seek immediate instructions from campus sources such as 1040 AM radio, 88.1 FM radio, Comcast on-campus cable channel 76 (Terp TV), and x5-SNOW (or 301-405-7669)
- Expect to obtain regular reports and updates information at www.umd.edu and www.resnet.umd.edu
- On-campus dining services will be sharply curtailed, then stopped within a matter of a few days
- Pack and take all belongings from your room, if possible
- At a minimum, leave campus with all valuables (e.g., ID, cash, credit cards, driver's license, bank statements, passport) and essential personal possessions you might need during the next several weeks (e.g., medications, clothing, books and class materials, laptop or computer) on the assumption you will not be permitted to return to your room for several weeks or months
- Schedules for transportation to a local Metro (subway) and MARC train station will be announced, for connections by bus, rail or subway to airports and other destinations in the Washington, DC and Baltimore metropolitan areas and the Eastern Seaboard
Time permitting, the optimal circumstances for your departure from your residence hall when an emergency closing is announced include:
- Remove all your personal property
- Take all trash, perishable food, and all unwanted items to an outside dumpster
- Close and lock doors and windows
- Return keys to your Service Desk, if so instructed
- Be ready to leave a quickly as your ride arrives
- Stop any newspaper deliveries and forward your mail
