March and April are known for unpredictable weather, and an evacuation drill was held on campus to assess how safe N.C. State students would be during a real natural disaster.

Students on main campus took part in an emergency exercise called Operation Wolfpack Shelter Wednesday near the Tri-Towers. 

According to Katina Blue, Director of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, the purpose of the drill is to exercise the ability of the school to shelter resident in events of a natural disaster, specifically a tornado, that could severely impact campus. 

The threat of a real natural disaster hitting N.C. State’s campus is tangible, according to Blue.

“A couple years ago, Shaw University experienced severe damages from a tornado, which was not far from the N.C. State campus.  We were lucky for the lack of damages we had, and we still experienced power outages on Centennial Campus,” Blue said. 

The drill will allow the University to become aware of what the needs are in the event of a natural disaster and discover what other external resources could be used in the case of an emergency.

“Many universities have experienced natural disasters and so we take time to do particular exercises,” Blue said. “If one dorm is affected, several hundred students would be displaced.”

More than 700 student residents participated after being evacuated from their dorms to alternative shelter. 

Aside from University residents, participants also included resident advisers and directors, Campus Police and other local emergency personnel, and the University Emergency Operations officials and volunteer actors. 

The drill heavily involved student participation with assistance from University Housing and the Department of Business Continuity. 

The surrounding roads off Cates Avenue, where the majority of these halls are located, also experienced disruptions to traffic. The purpose of N.C. State emergency exercises is to test the response of agencies and students.