Tornado Emergencies Procedures

United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Wyoming State Office
P.O. Box 1828
IN REPLY REFER TO: Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009-1828
1112 (950) P
June 25, 2008
EMS TRANSMISSION: July 1, 2008
Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2008-042
Expires: 9/30/2009
To: All State Office Employees
From: Associate State Director
Subject: Tornado Emergencies Procedures
The following procedures are to be followed in case of a tornado emergency.
1. When a tornado warning is issued for Cheyenne, a National Weather Service (NOAA) weather
alert is broadcast on emergency weather radios and/or the Civil Defense siren will sound.
Emergency weather alert radios are located on all floors occupied by BLM in the State Office
(see attached floor maps). Tornado warnings from any one of these sources will trigger
emergency tornado procedures described in this document.
2. After receiving official notification of a tornado warning, a member of the Emergency Action
Team (EAT) (team consists of State Director, Associate State Director, Deputy State Directors,
Chief Warden, Business Manager, and evacuation wardens) will make the following
announcement on the public address system:
Attention everyone, attention everyone. A tornado warning is in effect. Everyone in the building
should proceed immediately to the designated tornado shelter on the first floor.
The announcement will be repeated.
The tornado shelter includes the interior hallway on the north half of the first floor and first two
parts of the main conference room.
3. All employees and visitors will then proceed in a quick but orderly manner to the first floor and
assemble in the hallway that leads from the lobby to the main conference room, rooms 107B and
107C of the main conference room, and hallway west of the main conference room towards the
Information Resource Management (IRM) section. No one will be allowed to assemble in Room
107A of the conference room because of the windows in the north section of the room.
4. Employees are discouraged from using elevators for tornado evacuations and should use stairwell
exits to expedite the evacuation. Elevators are reserved for the mobility impaired and their
escorts. Supervisors must ensure mobility impaired employees have evacuation assistance.
5. The evacuation wardens will make sure everyone in their area is aware of the emergency and
direct them to evacuate. They will check the interior rooms, rest rooms, etc, to ensure everyone
is evacuated. Wardens will note who evacuated from their respective areas and provide a list to
the individual in charge (State Safety Officer, Business Manager, or DSD, Support Services.)
6. During the tornado warning everyone will remain in the north section of the first floor hallway
and in Rooms 107B and C. Floor wardens will station themselves at the doors at both ends of the
hallway to assure those doors remain closed until notified by the EAT that the tornado warning is
rescinded or the tornado has passed.
7. Room 109 (the First Aid room) will be the command center during the emergency. The chief
warden and Emergency Action Team (EAT) will assemble in the command center. The
individual in charge will make an announcement to all as to when the tornado warning was
initiated and how long it is estimated to last based on NOAA announcements. It is recommended
an updated announcement be made every 30 minutes until the warning has ended. There is an
emergency bag located in Room 109, located in a cabinet in the front part of the room.
8. The EAT should use NOAA weather reports as the official source to determine the end of the
tornado warning. Other sources of emergency information from the Internet and Civil Defense
alerts should also be considered, if available. After the EAT has determined the tornado warning
has expired or been rescinded, the individual in charge will announce the tornado warning has
ended and employees will be permitted to return to their duty stations.
9. In the event that the building or surrounding area has been damaged by a tornado, the Continuity
of Operations Plan (COOP) goes into effect and its procedures implemented.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Jamie E. Connell Pamela D. Hernandez
Acting Associate State Director Wyoming Central Files
1 Attachment:
1 – Maps (3 pp)
Distribution
Director (740), STE 300, 1120 20th St. NW 1 (w/o atch.)
SD 1 (w/atch.)
CF 2 (w/atch.)
cc:
Deputy State Director, Support Services
State Safety Officer, WY-950
Cy:
Building Agencies