UW Emergency Management

November 1, 2019

UWEM partnerships in practice

Generally, you know its not a good day when this group arrives on campus to convene in the UW’s Emergency Operations Center, or EOC.  But on November 1st, nearly 20 City of Seattle staff and volunteers were just here for training and a mini exercise. Buy WHY were they in the EOC in the first…


October 16, 2019

TODAY (10/17) @ 10:17 am: The Great Shake Out earthquake drill

Where will you be (or were you) TODAY, Thursday, October 17th at 10:17 am?  Hopefully, safety tucked away under a desk or sturdy table, practicing your “DROP, COVER & HOLD ON” skills.  For the 4rd year in a row, on a building-by-building voluntary basis, thousands of UW students, faculty and staff will once again be…


October 1, 2019

UW/USC Football Game-Not all Teams were at Husky Stadium

In the early morning hours of Saturday, September 28, 2019, team members gathered, reviewed their game plans, and began a 3+hour preparation for kickoff.  But this team was on the other side of campus from Husky Stadium.  Our field of play is the university’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), located in bowels of the UW Tower…


September 9, 2019

September 7, 2019: Lightning storm sends Cal-Washington football game into lengthy delay

The unprecedented game delay of 2-hours and 38-minutes meant that the game did not end until after1am the next morning.  Local news coverage reported that fewer than 10,000 fans remained to watch the game’s conclusion.  A record number of lightning strikes in Western Washington, along with brief heavy rainfall, thunder and winds, caused localized flooding,…


August 27, 2019

Annual UW Indoor Alert Test COMING

The UW’s Crisis Communication Team, in coordination with UWEM, will be conducting a brief test of the UW’s Indoor Alert System (IAS) on Thursday, September 5th at approximately 7:00 am.  This annual mandated activity will test the alarm systems in nearly 140 buildings and structures on the main Seattle campus.  Expect to hear brief loud…


August 26, 2019

The Lone Star State gets another Star! Megan Levy headed east…

Texas Mutual Insurance recently hit the jackpot by hiring Megan Levy as it newest business continuity consulting partner.  Sadly, Megan’s last day as the UW’s Business, Academic and Research Continuity (BARC) Manager was August 23, 2019.  In her two short years with UWEM, Megan propelled the BARC program from it’s ground-level beginnings into the stratosphere!…


July 24, 2019

Annual Nationwide Alert Test on August 7, 2019

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)  and the FCC scheduled the next nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) for August 7, 2019 at 11:20 a.m. PST.  FEMA states that this year’s test will differ from the nationwide tests that have been conducted over the past several years in that it will be issued…


June 24, 2019

From the archives: UW stadium civil defense drill during WWII

While the UW prides itself in our regular schedule of emergency and disaster trainings, drills and exercises, we also recently discovered some old news footage of a massive community-wide emergency drill conducted on June 13, 1943.   This daylong civil defense drill at University of Washington stadium (now called Husky Stadium) sets a faux village ablaze. …


June 5, 2019

Ready for another HOT and smoke-filled summer?! The UW “leans-forward” in its planning efforts

On June 4, 2019,  a group of nearly 3O UW staff and external experts convened for the first time to begin an intensive process to plan for the likelihood of yet another hot and dry summer season in Washington State.  Joined by experts from the WA State Climatologist’s Office, the WA State Department of Health,…


June 4, 2019

UW Leadership Convenes to Plan for the Unthinkable

Early in the early morning hours of May 28, 2019, most of us were slowly transitioning back our normal routines after a long Memorial Day holiday.  However, members of the UW’s senior leadership team took this opportunity to meet in the campus emergency operations center (EOC) to learn, discuss and share information on the importance…


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