Emergency Preparedness

Imagine a major hurricane that tracks inland through North Carolina and finally stalls over the Boone area for several days, resulting in the most rainfall ever recorded within six consecutive days. The torrential rainfall and flooding from the stalled hurricane results in extensive damages to Appalachian State University's campus. In addition to an immediate response to the critical life safety concerns, the University must also restore services and recover from the storm.

As part of App State's continued commitment to improving safety, security, and preparedness, the University will conduct an emergency management exercise on May, 11 2011 that simulates a major flood in the High Country. The exercise will include participants from across campus, the Town of Boone, and Watauga County.

The exercise itself will only last one day, although the research, collaboration, and reports from the exercise will benefit both App State and the surrounding community for many years. This year, the Office of Emergency Plans and Operations is utilizing a practitioner-academic model to develop both a beneficial training exercise for the University and academic service project with a final report.

Note: The images on this page are for illustrative purposes only. The flooding depicted in the photo is not based on GIS or flood modeling data, however, as the design progresses, we will post modeling images, maps, and other information.

• September - December, 2010 - Teams assembled, scenario development, research, flood modeling, and outreach (Complete)
• January, 2011 - Scenario finalized (Complete)
• February - March, 2011 - Exercise presentation materials developed and finalized. Invitations sent out (Complete)
• April, 2011 - Final exercise planning documents printed and published (In Progress)
• May 11, 2011 - Conduct exercise
• June, 2011 - Final report and improvement plan published