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Is the University of Florida prepared for a major emergency?

That's the question campus officials and law enforcement will attempt to answer Thursday morning in a simulated training exercise called Operation Urgent Impact.

Maj. Brad Barber, public information officer for the University of Florida Police Department, is helping to direct the operation.

It will be in effect Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon and will feature people pretending to have injuries and in need of medical assistance.

"(Thursday will) give us a good feel for how our plans and operations work in an environment that's a simulated real-world environment," Barber said.

Barber and other officials are conducting the exercise on the west side of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Minimum traffic closures are expected on Gale Lemerand Drive Thursday morning.

The exercise had originally been scheduled for Thursday, April 18, but was postponed the day following the Boston Marathon bombing.

Dyann is a reporter for WUFT News and can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.