Campuswide tornado drill set for Tuesday (March 15)

The test is part of the National Weather Service’s Severe Weather Preparedness Week (March 13-19), as designated by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. The National Weather Service, in conjunction with statewide agencies, will test communication systems around the state.

As part of Purdue’s test, Purdue ALERT will be activated at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday. The layers 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 beacons in some large classrooms, some digital signs and the Boiler TV Emergency Alerting System. The voluntary drill exercise plan can be found on the Emergency Preparedness and Planning website.  If severe weather is forecasted that day, the special test will be canceled.

To participate in the voluntary drill, building deputies and other building leaders are encouraged to practice and test their building emergency plans by organizing a shelter-in-place drill. Such a drill is designed to ensure that 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 the 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 Jefferson Howells, director of campus emergency preparedness and planning, at jfhowells@purdue.edu or 765-494-0446.