Tornado Emergencies Procedures

United States Department of the InteriorBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENTWyoming State OfficeP.O. Box 1828IN REPLY REFER TO: Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009-18281112 (950) PMay 28, 2010EMS TRANSMISSION: June 4, 2010Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2010-032Expires: 9/30/2011To: All State Office EmployeesFrom: Associate State DirectorSubject: Tornado Emergencies ProceduresThe 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) weatheralert 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 triggeremergency tornado procedures described in this document.2. After receiving official notification of a tornado warning, a member of the Emergency ActionTeam (EAT) (team consists of State Director, Associate State Director, Deputy State Directors,Chief Warden, Business Manager, and evacuation wardens) will make the followingannouncement on the public address system:Attention everyone, attention everyone. A tornado warning is in effect. Everyone in the buildingshould 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 twoparts 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 anddirect them to evacuate. They will check the interior rooms, rest rooms, etc, to ensure everyoneis evacuated. Wardens will note who evacuated from their respective areas and provide a list tothe 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 hallwayand in Rooms 107B and C. Floor wardens will station themselves at the doors at both ends of thehallway to assure those doors remain closed until notified by the EAT that the tornado warning isrescinded or the tornado has passed.7. Room 109 (the First Aid room) will be the command center during the emergency. The chiefwarden and Emergency Action Team (EAT) will assemble in the command center. Theindividual in charge will make an announcement to all as to when the tornado warning wasinitiated and how long it is estimated to last based on NOAA announcements. It is recommendedan updated announcement be made every 5-10 minutes until the warning has ended. There is anemergency 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 thetornado warning. Other sources of emergency information from the Internet and Civil Defensealerts should also be considered, if available. After the EAT has determined the tornado warninghas expired or been rescinded, the individual in charge will announce the tornado warning hasended 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:Ruth Welch Pamela D. HernandezAssociate State Director Wyoming Central Files1 Attachment:1 Maps (3 pp)DistributionDirector (740), STE 300, 1120 20th St. NW 1 (w/o atch.)SD 1 (w/atch.)CF 1 (w/atch.)