Lahar Evacuation Exercise For Puyallup Students May 17

PUYALLUP, WA — More than 8,000 students in Puyallup-based public and private schools will participate in a lahar hazard area emergency evacuation practice on the third Friday in May. The practice evacuation will prepare youth in all grades for the possibility of a real volcano-caused lahar emergency.

Students will reportedly exit their classrooms around 9:15 a.m. Friday, May 17, and walk to designated assembly points before returning to their respective schools. The 1-hour practice evacuation will not require students to walk a full evacuation route but will instead cover a partial route, to give students an idea of what to expect in a real emergency situation.

"We ask that everyone be patient as the students practice walking their evacuation routes," city officials said in a statement. "Student safety will be the highest priority, and the groups will be kept off of main roads and carefully guided at railroad crossings and various traffic control points."

The exercise is limited to school and city staff and students, officials said, noting that "each student body will be accompanied by a law enforcement officer in addition to teachers and school staff and volunteers."

Lahar warning sirens will not activate during this exercise, officials said, and schools located outside the mapped lahar hazard area will not evacuate.

For interested community members, the Puyallup library on the night before the practice evacuations will host a community workshop featuring the USGS scientist-in-charge of the Cascades Volcano Observatory, Seth Moran, who will present updated research showing the current volcanic risks in the Puyallup Valley region.

For more information on the May 16 workshop, visit cityofpuyallup.org.

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