Thousands of Mayo Clinic Employees Participate in Drill

Thousands of people were evacuated from a Mayo Clinic building this morning as part of an emergency drill.

In a test of its emergency procedures, about 2,000 Mayo employees left their work stations in the Hilton Building and made their way to a variety of holding areas around 10 a.m.

Rochester Police and Fire Department personnel helped supervise the evacuation and other local officials worked with Mayo Clinic staff to coordinate the response and minimize disruptions. The large scale drill required the closure of some adjacent streets and was expected to cause some delays for Rochester Public Transit.

The entire drill from 9 a.m. through noon.