Rich Cholodofsky
Tribune-Review (Greensburg, PA)
Copyright 2006 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
Weapons of mass destruction will be discovered at the Westmoreland County Courthouse on Saturday during the largest disaster drill ever conducted in Westmoreland County, officials said.
Called “Urban Thunder,” the two-day event will involve about 50 agencies and more than 700 participants to assess the county’s ability to handle a major disaster.
“The goal is to get as many activities as possible at the same time to see how we respond to it,” said Rich Matason, Westmoreland County’s public safety director.
The drill is scheduled to begin at noon Friday, when law enforcement personnel are called out to handle a situation at Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood.
While officials haven’t disclosed the exact script for the drill, Matason said much of Friday’s activities will involve emergency workers and public safety officials searching for the location of what is believed to be weapons of mass destruction somewhere in the county.
The courthouse will be open to the public as usual on Friday.
On Saturday, the scene shifts to Greensburg and the courthouse, where those weapons eventually will be discovered, Matason said.
Meanwhile, county emergency workers will have to deal with severe weather scenarios in the Ligonier and West Newton areas, and a law enforcement situation in Murrysville. Torrance State Hospital in Derry Township will hold its own drill and act as a shelter for the disaster.
Rescue workers, police, hospital workers and hazardous material crews throughout the county will be dispatched during the drill. Volunteers will be used as victims.
Matason said all aspects of a disaster will be acted out, included media coverage. Students from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and Seton Hill University will pose as reporters covering the disaster, he said.
“It’s a very ambitious exercise,” Matason said.