In case you hear or see any of this tomorrow – don’t be alarmed, the college stresses, it’s only a drill:

On Tuesday, August 30, 2011, Exercise Seattle Storm will take place on the campus of South Seattle Community College. Participants involved in this training exercise include the 10th Civil Support Team, US Army North (USARNORTH)-Bravo Division, Seattle Police Department, Seattle Police Department Bomb Squad, and Washingtoon National Guard J3 Domestic Ops.

This realistic exercise is scenario-driven and focused on recognizing and demonstrating the ability to meet incident objectives when faced with a potential Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) threat. The scenario is based on discovery of a chemical production laboratory and materials needed to build or assemble an explosive devise.

“While we believe this kind of situation is unlikely to occur at South, we are committed to pro-actively preparing for all possible scenarios,” said South President Gary Oertli. “We welcome the opportunity to partner with and learn from our local, municipal, county, and federal response agencies.”

Activity will take place at the north end of the college campus, in the Landscape Horticulture (LHO) program area. During the exercise, the Chan Center and LHO parking lot will be closed.