The Andover tornado on April 29 was a wake up call for many that tornado season has arrived.

Since Kansas is in the middle of tornado alley, the high school has policies in place to make sure that students and staff remain safe in the event of a natural disaster. 

“We have two FEMA shelters that the school would be moved to in case of a tornado. One is past K-hall in the Panther Learning Center,” assistant principal Shane Seeley said. “The other shelter is in the orchestra room and team locker rooms – those are all FEMA shelters.”

Assistant principal Jeromy Swearingen also noted that these shelters even have rollaway furniture that allows the room to fit more people.

This is not the only preparation that schools perform for tornadoes.

“The state requires schools do at least two tornado drills a year,” Seeley said. 

Currently the high school’s safety evacuation time is under 10 minutes; however, the faster that people get to shelter, the better. 

Although some drills can seem pointless or tedious to some, if a tornado hits during school hours, everyone in the building will know what to do and how to stay safe. 

For information on how to seek shelter in the event of a tornado please visit www.cdc.gov/tornado-safety