All IU campuses will be organizing and participating in tornado drills March 21 as a part of Operation Stormy Weather. Tracy James, the communications manager for IU Public Safety and Institutional Assurance, said the drills will coincide with severe weather preparedness week.
James said this issue has even more importance after the tornado that touched down in Kokomo, Indiana last year.
“Indiana averages 20 tornadoes annually but saw 35 last year, with one causing serious damage near the IU Kokomo campus,” James said in an email.
IU alerts will go out via email, text and other desktop alerts when the drill starts between 10 and 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 and 8 p.m. that day.
According to a Protect IU blog post, no all clear will be given because the alerts will be tied into the National Weather Service and its procedures. During a real emergency the expiration time for the warning will be included in the alert. During the drills, if no expiration time is given by NWS, students and staff should return to their offices and classes after around 15 minutes.
Students are not required to receive permission from professors to leave during these emergencies or drills, according to Protect IU. Students may leave class and locate a designated shelter; however, they must return to their classes.
Dominick Jean
