A regional/national emergency could arise during your time abroad as the result of a natural disaster (earthquake, forest/bush fire, hurricane etc), civil unrest (riots, protests), or the outbreak of civil war. As in Manchester, you may face a personal emergency that could not have been anticipated. This could be a serious accident or an assault, the onset of a severe illness (physical or mental), the serious illness of an immediate family member or a bereavement.
Depending on the nature of the incident/emergency, there are a range of services available to support you.
In all cases you should, as soon as possible, contact The University of Manchester.
Read our guide on how to prepare for an Emergency in Advance - Emergency Situations
24/7 emergency travel & medical assistance : tel: +44 (0) 1273 552 922 or email: CorporateAssist@aig.com
University of Manchester
24/7 emergency helpline: +44 (0)161 306 9966
In all cases, The University of Manchester will work to support you. You should notify us of any serious incident that affects you during your time abroad.
Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm (UK time) you can contact the Placements and International Programmes Office: IPOincidentsupport@manchester.ac.uk
Out of hours: contact the 24 hour number for the University: +44 (0)161 306 9966 (this will put you through to 24 hour security who will then, depending on the emergency, direct your call to the University’s Emergency Incident Manager).
IMPORTANT: In the event of a significant regional/national emergency staff from the International Programmes Office will seek to communicate with you via your University of Manchester email account and any phone numbers that you have listed on the Student System. Please ensure that you respond to the International Programmes Office as soon as possible to confirm your safety.
Depending on the nature of the emergency one or more of the following services/organisations may also be an important source of help/advice for you:
AIG provide emergency assistance to students undertaking study, work or volunteering placements abroad that have been arranged through the University. They can support in multiple ways including with emergency medical assistance and evacuation or the arrangement of flights for yourself or an immediate family member.
In the event of a regional/national emergency make sure that you check and follow the FCDO advice for the region. You can register with the FCDO to receive regular updates for the region where you are based.
In most European countries dialling 112 will connect you to the emergency services.
Emergency numbers for almost all other countries can be found via the Wikipedia ‘List of emergency telephone numbers’
Your host organisation will be particularly helpful in identifying/providing local sources of support.
You can find a full list of all the British Embassies and Consulates and the support services they are able to provide via the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Find a British embassy, High Commission or Consulate - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) listings.