ODU to Conduct Tornado Drill March 17

March 13, 2015

Virginia residents - including students, faculty and staff at Old Dominion University - will have an opportunity this week to learn more about tornado safety and participate in a simultaneous statewide drill.

The 2015 Virginia Statewide Tornado Drill will be held on Tuesday, March 17, at 9:45 a.m.

During the drill, participants will practice the "duck and cover" maxim, which instructs those hearing a tornado warning to seek indoor shelter at the lowest building level away from windows; crouch as low as possible to the floor and protect your head and neck; and stay put until the tornado warning ends.

In conjunction with the Statewide Tornado Drill, ODU will test its Emergency Notification System (ENS) at approximately 9:45 a.m. on the day of the drill. Official notifications during the approximately 15-minute drill may be transmitted through outdoor loudspeakers, text messaging, desktop computer alerts, student/faculty/staff email and the ODU website. Students, faculty and staff who have not already signed up to receive alerts should visit the ODU health and safety website to register for the free service.

For more information on tornado safety, visit the ReadyVirginia website.

More than 392,500 Virginians (including thousands in higher education and in state government) have registered for the 2015 Statewide Tornado Drill. The Statewide Tornado Drill, promoted throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, is part of ODU's emergency management program.

In the event of an actual emergency, ODU's tornado preparedness and ENS drills will be rescheduled for Tuesday, March 24 at 9:45 a.m. Questions should be directed to the Office of Emergency Management: oem@odu.edu or (757) 683-5116.