At noon on Sunday 7 April, Auckland Civil Defense will be testing the north and west coast tsunami sirens to check operational performance and familiarise residents with the siren tones. These tsunami sirens are tested by Auckland Council Civil Defense twice yearly. In the event of a tsunami, parts of Rodney and Waitakere will be alerted by a series of sirens. However, the public is not required to do anything for these series of tests, except be aware of them.
The tsunami sirens are located in Rodney at Point Wells, Whangateau, Omaha and Waiwera. In Waitakere, sirens are located at Bethells Beach Te Henga, Piha North, Piha South, Karekare, Whatipu, Little Huia, Huia, Te Atatu South, Harbour View Road, Te Atatu Peninsula North, Westpark Marina, Hobsonville Airbase (Harrier Point) and Herald Island. The test sequence will be three sets of tones, each signalling a specific action. They will sound for one minute each and there will be 15 seconds between each set. In an emergency, tones will sound for longer.
The siren patterns and the way they will sound in an emergency are:
Alert (dash – dash – dot – dot) sounds for 15 minutes and indicates threat of tsunami. Evacuate beaches, prepare for full evacuation and monitor the radio or television for more information.
Evacuate (dot – dot – dot) continuous bursts for 15 minutes indicates immediate evacuation to the nearest safe high ground and to avoid using personal transport unless essential.
All clear (continuous tone) sounds for 5 minutes indicate threat has passed. Return to premises if they have not been affected, and follow directions of the emergency services if your area has been affected.
For more information about the north and west coast tsunami warning system go to www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.
Aucklanders can set their phones up to receive text message alerts and can also download the free ‘Auckland Civil Defence’ application on any Smartphone handset, including iPhone, Android and Windows devices.
For everything you need to get ready for an emergency, go to: www.getthru.govt.nz.
