PurdueALERT test, campuswide tornado drill scheduled for March 12

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Office of Emergency Preparedness is scheduled to test the PurdueALERT system on Tuesday (March 12) at 10:15 a.m. At the same time, the campus community is encouraged to participate in a voluntary tornado drill. These efforts are part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week in Indiana (March 10-16).

As part of the test, PurdueALERT will be activated and notifications will be released through email, texts and X/Twitter (@purdueemergency), and posted on the WL Campus Emergency Status webpage. Additionally, the All-Hazards Outdoor Sirens, Alertus beacons in large classrooms, desktop pop-up alerts on most classroom and lab computers, digital signs and the Boiler TV emergency alert systems will be activated. 

To participate in the voluntary tornado drill, campus building deputies and other building leaders are encouraged to test their building emergency plans by organizing a shelter-in-place drill. This drill is designed to ensure building occupants know what to do in an emergency and confirm that there is adequate space in designated shelter-in-place locations. This also provides an opportunity to test weather radios, computers and other communication devices. The voluntary tornado drill exercise plan can be found on the Emergency Preparedness website.

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 tornadoes and thunderstorm procedures online.

The test is weather-dependent and will be rescheduled to Wednesday (March 13) if needed.

Emergency Preparedness is part of the Administrative Operations organization. The organization supports the university by providing safe, reliable and transformative services. Conducting tests related to the safety of the campus community during severe weather is just one of the ways the organization helps power Purdue.

More resources are available on the Emergency Preparedness website. Questions about PurdueALERT may be directed to Jefferson Howells, director of Emergency Preparedness, at jfhowells@purdue.edu.

About Purdue University 

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.  

Writer/Media contact:  Tim Doty, doty2@purdue.edu