National Preparedness Month leads up to Purdue Safety Day

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – September's National Preparedness Month is intended to promote several safety messages to Americans. Among them: Be informed, make a plan and get involved.

Each week during the month has focused on preparation for certain disasters. The first week was for flooding, followed by wildfire, hurricane and power outage.

While an emergency at Purdue likely would mean a different set of circumstances, such as a tornado, building fire or some other safety threat, the message is the same, said Jefferson Howells, assistant director of Emergency Preparedness.

"You need to take personal responsibility to prepare before an emergency happens," Howells said. "Think about how you will respond if you need to evacuate the building you are in, and think about where you might shelter in place, if instructed to do so."

Purdue's Office of Emergency Preparedness is providing the university community with its own extension of National Preparedness Month. Purdue's sixth annual Safety Day is scheduled for 2:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 29) around the circle drive on the north side of the France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center. It is aimed at educating the community about personal safety and providing information on the university and local resources available should they ever be needed.

"National Preparedness Month and our own Safety Day are just ways to get people to take action now through planning and communication," Howells said. "We want students to know how they will be alerted and what action to take. We want them to know the resources available, to have a plan, whether they are instructed to evacuate or to shelter-in-place. We want everyone to take personal responsibility and think proactively – before an emergency happens."

As part of National Preparedness Month, National Preparation Day, a national campaign to increase community preparedness and resilience, is Wednesday (Sept. 30). The site provides a video called, "It Started Like Any Other Day."

At Purdue on Sept. 29, the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Planning will conduct a 10 a.m. test of the emergency notification system. The test will include all layers of Purdue Alert, including sirens, unless inclement weather causes the sirens portion to be canceled.

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to sign up for emergency text alerts. For information on Purdue safety measures and procedures, go to the Purdue Emergency Preparedness (EP) Office website 

Writer: Jim Bush, 765-494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu

Source: Jefferson Howells, 765-494-9269, jfhowells@purdue.edu