North Carolina Holds its Largest Hurricane Evacuation Exercise

Lenoir Community College in Kinston hosted North Carolina’s largest hurricane evacuation exercise this year.

The eastern North Carolina town suffered through hurricanes Fran and Floyd in the 1990s.

The exercise, called Medical Evacuation Triage and Treatment Assessment, took place June 12. It’s meant to show how well the state responds to the needs of “medically fragile populations,” such as those in nursing homes, during a hurricane.

More than 300 college students were to play the roles of those who need evacuating.

State standards call for setting up large medical shelters at community colleges.

Participants included several state agencies, along with Duke University Medical School and Campbell University’s pharmacy school.