Campus-wide tornado drill on March 21; tornado awareness classes set

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The National Weather Service, in conjunction with several statewide agencies, will conduct a statewide test of communication systems on Tuesday (March 21) at approximately 10:15 a.m. and 7:35 p.m. 

The test is part of the National Weather Service’s “Severe Weather Preparedness Week,” as designated by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb.  If there is any chance of severe weather anywhere in Indiana that day, the special test will be postponed to Wednesday (March 22).

As part of Indiana’s Severe Weather Preparedness Week, the Purdue Emergency Preparedness and Planning Office will coordinate a voluntary campus-wide tornado drill on Tuesday during the state’s morning drill.  More information on the voluntary drill can be found on the Emergency Preparedness and Planning Office’s website.  Multiple warning systems will be activated at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday. The systems that will be activated include the All Hazard Outdoor Emergency Warning Sirens (intended to warn those outdoors only), text messaging, Twitter (@purdueemergency), desktop popup alert, alert beacon activation, some digital signs and the Boiler TV Emergency Alerting System layers of the Purdue Alert notification system. 

The All Hazard Outdoor Emergency Warning Sirens will sound again at 7:35 p.m. as part of the state’s drill in order to allow all to consider tornado preparedness at home, however the other Purdue alert warning notification layers will not be activated.

Building deputies and other building leaders are encouraged to take this opportunity to practice and test their building emergency plans by organizing a shelter-in-place drill. A tornado warning shelter-in-place drill is designed to: ensure building occupants know what to do in an emergency, ensure that there is adequate space in shelter-in-place locations and test the functionality of weather radios, computers and other communication devices.

Purdue is located in a county with the highest number of reported tornado touchdowns in the state, so even if a tornado warning shelter-in-place drill is not possible, building occupants should take a few minutes to review their building emergency plan. They should also familiarize themselves with their building’s shelter-in-place locations and review the severe weather tornadoes and thunderstorm procedures published by Purdue’s Environmental Health and Public Safety office. Click here for more information. 

Individual consultations are available for those interested in organizing a shelter-in-place drill for a building. For questions on the tornado drill or for help organizing a shelter-in-place drill for a building, contact Ron Wright, director of university emergency preparedness and planning, at rdwright@purdue.edu or 765-494-0446.

Additionally, three free tornado awareness workshops will be offered on the following dates: March 31, April 7 and April 14. The sessions will be 10-11 a.m. at the Purdue Police Department's Terry Conference Room, 205 S. Martin Jischke Drive. To register, contact Tempess Williams at 765-494-1424. Direct questions to Ron Wright, director of university emergency preparedness, or Tom Cooper, tncooper@purdue.edu. 

Contacts: Ron Wright, 765-494-0446, rdwright@purdue.edu

Tom Cooper, 765-494-1432, tncooper@purdue.edu