The University Office of Safety and Preparedness implemented Virginia’s statewide tornado drill Tuesday morning.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Tornado Preparedness Day is intended to raise awareness and increase preparedness for tornadoes, especially in public schools. The day is chosen to accommodate Standard of Learning, or SOL, testing schedules and events such as Spring Break to maximize public school attendance.
Virginia is vulnerable to tornadoes and sees 15 to 20 tornadoes per year, Dawn Eischen, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, said. Last month, eight tornadoes resulted in five deaths and damage to more than 400 structures.
Chris Strong, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said a wide range of agencies have taken measures to cope with the issue.
“We have different meteorologist[s] and managers, employees in different state levels as well, to make sure we are covering the basics,” Strong said. “We also make sure that ultimately the public can also participate by receiving the text messages that severe weather season is coming.”
From 1950 to 2007, 578 tornadoes were reported in Virginia, resulting in a total of 27 deaths and 539 injuries, Strong said.
Nearly 1.1 million people pledged to take part in the drill, which is cosponsored by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service, Eischen said.
The goal of the drill is to train people to react to the alarm system.
“You don’t have time to think about it. You need to react,” Eischen said. “And you tend to react the way you’re trained.”
While the drill is voluntary, the VDEM highly encourages the emergency managers at each college to coordinate the drill for their schools.
The Office of Safety and Emergency Preparedness sent an email to the University community Sunday containing details of the drill and appropriate responses. The drill took place from 10:54 to 11:10 a.m.
Marge Sidebottom, director of the Office of Safety and Emergency Preparedness, said participation is difficult to gauge.
“The information goes out to all University-affiliated persons, over 50,000,” Sidebottom said in an email statement. “Since it is during class change, it is hard to get an accurate count, but we do see more interest and get questions regarding preparations and safe locations.”
First-year Engineering student Matt Dean said he is aware of the threat tornadoes pose in Virginia and has had previous exposure to drills in high school.
“I feel like some people have not lived in areas where tornadoes are prevalent, so it’s good to educate and raise awareness,” Dean said. “It’s good to be aware.”
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