When tornadoes roared across Tennessee during the first full week of April, 36 lives were lost – only three fewer than the national average for annual tornado fatalities, according to The Weather Channel.

April 18 was the 100th anniversary of the great San Francisco earthquake and fire. UTM also lies in a seismic zone – the New Madrid system of faults – that recently has been the focus of political attention on disaster potential and preparedness.

Late last week, UTM students found themselves wading through water simply to get around Martin or walk to class. Deluges in Northwest Tennessee often mean localized flooding because of the flatter terrain.

The campus community knows the dangers it faces, particularly during the spring when storms are commonplace. However, are students, faculty, staff and administrators truly prepared for a large-scale disaster?

One Communications class asked that question last fall and conducted a pilot study to find some answers. What the class found was that while the administration continually works to update the university’s emergency response plan, most students who were surveyed do not know what the university’s guidelines are for disasters or crises.

Students also reported overwhelmingly that they do not have an emergency kit in their residences; do not know if UTM has an emergency hotline number; believe the administration is responsible for ensuring that the campus community is well informed on disaster procedures; and have not written down and given their emergency contact information to anyone else.

The 28 faculty, staff and administrators who were polled, however, mostly reported that they know UTM’s disaster guidelines moderately well, feel somewhat or sufficiently prepared to handle a disaster on their own, and believe the university is somewhat prepared to handle a disaster. Obviously, administrators who responded were certainly confident that the university is prepared.

Both students and employees believe UTM is more likely to suffer from a natural disaster, and a large majority of all who were surveyed said they would stay and help if needed with relief efforts. Several respondents qualified their sentiments by saying they would make sure their families were safe first; some students said their families would expect them to leave UTM and go home.

When asked if they were currently certified in CPR and/or first aid procedures, most respondents – students as well as employees – reported that they were not. However, when asked if faculty/staff should be trained in CPR and other medical procedures, the responses greatly favored that course of action.

Meanwhile, for those who do wish to learn more about disaster preparedness and how to stay safe on campus, several sources of information are available. One is the “UT Martin Alerts” link on the UTM home page that was completed last fall. Another is the building manager in each on-campus building, who coordinates the disaster plan for each building and works with Weakley County’s first responders when the need arises.

Web sites such as getprepared.org, redcross.org, ready.gov and weather.com also provide lots of educational materials and tips on how to stay safe.

Editor’s Note: This story is a compilation of information gathered by the Fall 2005 Communications 300 Newsgathering class. The students conducted interviews, read the UTM and Martin emergency response plans, and conducted a pilot study that unscientifically surveyed the campus community about awareness of disaster preparedness issues. Class members were Jay Baker, Jason Bohanan, Wes Brasher, Bessie Cherry, Yoshiki Fujita, Rebecca Gray, Deikeya Greer, Ashley Hodges, Bradley Hurt, Carin Malone, Terry Oliver, Rachel Rogers, Heather Roland, Elizabeth Watts, Elaine Wilson and Will York.