City of Berkeley, Calif., Prepares Disaster Supplies for Off-Campus Students

Anticipating that University of California at Berkeley students who live in off-campus housing would be left to their own devices after a major disaster—such as a fire that swept through the Berkeley hills, or an earthquake—the City of Berkeley is putting $18,000 worth of rescue supplies in sheds near some 60 fraternities, sororities, and housing cooperatives, according to the Alameda Times-Star.

The supplies include axes, crowbars, flashlights, two-way radios, and generators, all paid for by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A small number of students in each housing unit will be asked to take responsibility for the supplies, which will be locked up until needed. Students will be trained to use the supply caches by the city and the American Red Cross. The program is part of a $180,000 effort by the city to prepare residents for citywide emergencies.

Grahaeme Hesp, the university’s director of fraternity and sorority life, told the newspaper that it would take three to seven days for federal aid to reach Berkeley after a major disaster. “So students will have to be on their own,” he said.