While no one was killed during the tornado in St. Louis on Friday, April 22, over 70 people were killed in storms over the southern United States on Wednesday, April 27.

This serves as a strong reminder of what tornados are capable of. At Saint Louis University, there are several systems in place to ensure that students remain safe during storms.

“We put in place several all-hazard radios throughout the campus,” Connie Tillman, the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for the Department of Public Safety and Security Services said.

“We give out emergency cards that you can carry with the ID for immediate actions. Recently we got access to the list serves for residence halls, and we can send out mass emails to everyone on campus.”

But the warnings and messages are not always taken seriously.

“I’m usually out on my balcony, watching the storm,” sophomore Jon Levin said. “If it looks like it’s going to turn bad, then yes, [I’ll head to the basement].”

DPSSS has done training at SLU101 sessions to explain the tornado sirens, stating that if the siren sounds, there is imminent danger and that they will not go off in St. Louis city unless there is a tornado warning.

The SLU Community Emergency Response Team is also trained in tornado preparedness. CERT is a group of students and staff who are trained to assist first responders in the event of a disaster.

Facility Services and DPSSS are also trained in tornado damage response and would be notified by a paging system that alerts all primary personnel.

Even with all the measures taken, Tillman still worries about how prepared SLU students are for a disaster.

“It’s on my mind every day. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t,” Tillman said. “It’s our responsibly as a community to make sure everyone knows what’s going on.

“If you see people walking around when the sirens are off, grab them, bring them inside, and tell them it’s a severe situation.”