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Emergency Preparedness

One of the goals of the Department of Public Safety is to ensure that all members of the Augsburg community are prepared in the event of an emergency. You should know what to do and where to go if there is a fire, power outage, medical emergency, severe weather or any other emergency that impacts the community, operations or environment on campus.  Please read the information below for how to be notified of an emergency on campus and information on what to do in case of certain emergencies.  As always, please call Public Safety Dispatch if you witness an emergency or have any questions.

Looking for something specific? Take a look at the links below to go to that section of this page

Emergency Notification Services

Severe Weather

Active Shooter/Violence


Emergency Notification Services

All students, staff and faculty are encouraged to register for Augsburg Alerts, an emergency notification system operated by Augsburg University. Augsburg Alerts is an electronic communications tool to communicate timely information regarding active emergencies or weather closures via text message, voice mail, and/or e-mail to registered personal cell phones, landlines, or personal e-mail addresses.

Augsburg Alerts will only be used to communicate important information related to weather closings, or during an active emergency, to help individuals make sound decisions about their personal safety. Examples of situations in which Augsburg Alerts may be used could include natural weather events that lead to an unscheduled closing of the University, or for emergency situations such as a gas leak, fire, bomb threat, active violence, power failure, or other event. Augsburg Alerts will NOT be used to notify the community of things such as enrollment deadlines, sporting events, or other non-emergency information.

Augsburg Alerts is only one communication method the University may use during a weather closing, or during an emergency, to disseminate timely information. The University may also send notifications to @augsburg.edu e-mail accounts, campus message boards, the Inside Augsburg homepage, and other appropriate communications tools.

How to Sign Up for Augsburg Alerts
E2Campus

  1. Go to Inside Augsburg. https://augnet.augsburg.edu/; or click on the “Sign up for Emergency Notification Services” button below
  2. Log in with your Augsburg username and password
  3. Select “Emergency Notification” from Augnet Services listings on the left side
  4. Enter contact information according to the manner in which you would like to receive Augsburg Alerts. Registrants can register as many of the following options as they choose to get Augsburg Alerts:
    • Cell phone text message (up to 2 cell phone numbers)
    • Voicemail via landline/home phone (1 home phone number)
    • By email (up to 4 e-mail addresses) to personal email account
  5. Authenticate the accounts by replying to a text/e-mail that is sent to the registered cell phone/landline/personal e-mail account

Community members may choose to register a phone or e-mail address for a spouse or parent. This registration will count towards the total of 2 cell phone numbers, 1 landline/home phone, and 4 e-mail addresses available to each registrant.

Members of the community are encouraged to register for all three communication options. Doing so will help ensure registrants receive important communications regardless of whether on or off campus, and whether registrants have access to their cell phones or not.

Public Safety currently is undergoing a review of its Campus Emergency Procedures, All Hazards Plan, and Crisis Communications Plans. We will continue to send updates as they become available.

Sign Up for Emergency Notification Services

Questions?

For questions about Augsburg Alerts, please contact Public Safety at 612-330-1717 or just dial 1717 from a campus phone.

For assistance signing up, please contact your department’s LFC or the IT Student Help Desk at 612-330-1400.

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Severe Weather

Like any other community, Augsburg is not immune to receiving severe weather on occasion; therefore, it is important have a plan in place and know where to go in case of severe weather. Please note that decisions to cancel in-person classes and move to alternative modalities will be made in advance (typically by 4 p.m. the day before) and in no case later than 6 a.m. for daytime classes and no later than 2 p.m. for evening classes; information will be shared via Augsburg Alerts, the university website, and social media.

If you are a residential student, your Resident Advisor will cover where to go in your dormitory during severe weather; if you are a non-resident student, Faculty or Staff there are emergency maps located in every building that note where to go in case of severe weather.  In either case, take the time to review the general guidelines below to know what to do, no matter where you are on campus.  If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact the Department of Public Safety at 612-330-1717.

  • What to do – If you are at home, close your doors and windows. If you can’t get them all closed, leave them (Closing exterior doors and windows helps keep rain and small debris out. Closing interior doors helps compartmentalize your house and puts more barriers between you and the storm).
  • Where to go – Ideally, you want to get to a room without windows and as low as possible. Be aware of what’s overhead and try not to be under heavy furniture on the floor above. They can crash through a weakened floor.
    • Wherever you go, use items you have nearby, such as backpacks, jackets, heavy blankets, etc. to protect yourself. Flying debris can cause severe injury, and these items can shield you from harm.
    • If you are on the road, don’t stay in your car. Get out and find a low depression on the ground, such as a ditch. Cover your head and lie as flat as possible. Stay there until the storm dies.
    • Don’t take shelter in buildings with wide span roofs (such as the Kennedy Center gymnasium, Ice Arena, etc.). The design of these buildings puts the load of the ceiling on the outer walls, making them prone to collapse. Look for a building with a smaller footprint. Pay attention to places you frequent so that you know ahead of time where the safest places are.
    • Remain in the shelter area until the all clear is given by the weather service or Public Safety.  After the storm has passed, you may re-enter rooms and buildings that have not been damaged or closed off by Public Safety.
    • Report injuries and damage.  If the building has been damaged, evacuate and do not attempt to return to the building unless authorized by Public Safety.  Contact Public Safety at extension 1717 to report all situations that need immediate attention.
  • How to meet up afterwards – After a disaster, it’s natural to want to know that everybody’s all right. Part of your procedures should be to designate a meeting place and be sure everyone knows how to get there (this will be covered by Residence Life for residential students). It’s a good idea to have one or two alternative meeting places in case the first choice isn’t safe or can’t be reached. Don’t rely on cell phones and other technology to establish contact. Any networks or towers that are still functioning are needed by emergency responders.

Useful Items to Have Close

Severe weather can strike at any time, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead and keep a few useful items in your pockets, attached to your keychain, or in your purse or wallet:

  • Small flashlight
  • Pocket knife
  • Cash
  • Glow sticks
  • Lighter or matches

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Active Shooter/Violence

With reports of active shooters and violence on or around school communities in the media, Augsburg Department of Public Safety is constantly reassessing and improving how we can respond if an active violence incident occurs on our campus.  One way we do this is to educate the Augsburg community on how they can best protect themselves in a situation where there is an active threat on campus.  We subscribe to the Department of Homeland Security model of “Run, Hide, Fight”, and believe this model provides our community the best chance at surviving the possibility of an active violence scenario.  Please review the information below, and contact the Department of Public Safety with any questions.

Run, Hide, Fight!

When an active shooter is in your vicinity, you must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with the situation.  You have three options:

  • Run
    • Have an escape route and plan in mind
    • Leave your belongings behind
    • Evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow
    • Help others escape, if possible without endangering yourself
    • Do not attempt to move the wounded
    • Prevent others from entering an area where the active shooter may be
    • Keep your hands visible
    • Call Public Safety or 911 when you are safe if they have not approached you
  • Hide
    • Hide in an area out of the shooter’s view
    • Lock the door and/or block entry to your hiding place
    • Silence your phone (including vibrate mode) and remain quiet
  • Fight!
    • Fight as a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger
    • Attempt to incapacitate the shooter by any means necessary
    • Act with as much physical aggression as possible
    • Improvise weapons or throw items at the shooter
    • Commit to your actions….YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Resources

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