Levels of Emergency 
For the framework of University emergency planning, different levels of emergencies are identified. These levels establish the fact that all emergencies, whether minor or major, human or property related, have a place within a university emergency continuum. It establishes, as well, the context of different emergencies and assists in the identification of a proper response.
LEVEL 1 - A minor department or building incident that can be resolved by the responding service unit or affected department.
LEVEL 2 - A department or building incident that can be resolved with existing University resources or limited outside help. A Level 2 incident is usually a one-dimensional event of limited duration and impact.
LEVEL 3 - Situations that are primarily people, rather than infrastructure focused. In particular, many student issues can become quite complex because of varied institutional and student support responses that must be coordinated.
LEVEL 4 - A major emergency that impacts a sizable portion of the campus and that may involve the outside community. Level 4 emergencies may be single or multi-hazard situations.
LEVEL 5 - A catastrophic emergency event involving the entire campus and surrounding community. Immediate resolution of the disaster, which is usually multi-hazard, is beyond the emergency response capabilities of campus. A level 4 or 5 emergency will automatically activate this UNH-EOP. Activation for a lower level emergency will be based upon need as identified in this plan.