Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a flash flood that hit campus Aug. 2, Northwestern administrators announced in a Friday e-mail that they will re-evaluate the university’s emergency preparedness plans.

University President Henry Bienen said in the e-mail to members of the NU community that key administrative departments will form a task force to oversee a review of NU’s current emergency plans and decide on updated changes.

The task force, under the direction of Vice President for Business and Finance Eugene Sunshine, held its first meeting Monday and has been asked to submit its recommendations by Dec. 15.

Although the committee will evaluate a universitywide evacuation plan in case of a major emergency, Alan Cubbage, vice president for university relations, said the evacuation proposal would only be a small piece of the review.

Cubbage said the task force will look at all aspects of emergency preparedness, from organizing the campus after a huge snowstorm to dealing with the aftermath of a dorm fire.

Although some departments have updated emergency plans on their own, the university has not undertaken a systematic review in many years, he said.

“Some current plans are very good, and some are not,” Cubbage said. “All dorms practice fire drills regularly and all research facilities dealing with animals have clearly defined plans, but other buildings don’t have plans that are as clearly organized.”

In the seven weeks remaining before a final plan is developed, Bienen urged employees and students to learn about current emergency plans by becoming familiar with the Employee Safety Handbook, available through the Office of Risk Management.

“An effective emergency preparedness plan ultimately depends upon each member of the community taking the responsibility to learn what is required of them in a time of emergency, to practice what is required, and to comply with personnel authorized to direct members of the community in a state of emergency,” Bienen wrote in the e-mail.