Tsunami sirens to sound in Northland early April

Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) has announced that tsunami sirens from Te Hapua to Mangawhai will be tested when daylight saving ends early next month.

A total of 184 sirens in Northland will sound on April 01 – at noon for 10 minutes and again at 12.30pm for 30 seconds. This year’s testing is later in the day than the normal morning time slot due to April 01 falling on Easter Sunday.

Nineteen new Northland-produced tsunami sirens are expected to be installed ahead of the April testing. These will be installed on selected local power poles in Langs Beach, Onerahi, Mangawhai, Ruakaka, Tutukaka, Waipu and Whangarei Heads.

Compared to the rest of the country, Northland has the highest level of tsunami sirens with 104 installed in the Whangarei district, 59 in the Far North and 21 in the Kaipara district.

“Tsunami sirens are a critical part of Northland’s tsunami alerting,” Northland CDEM Group spokesperson Victoria Randall said.

Should there be a genuine tsunami warning, the sound of the sirens is an indicator to local communities to immediately seek further information from sources. The testing can be used as a time to boost tsunami preparedness, which could include:

• Find out if you live, work or play in a tsunami evacuation zone by checking out Northland tsunami evacuation maps;
• Work out where you’re going to evacuate to if necessary, how you’ll get to that evacuation point, time how long the evacuation will take;
• Consider how you’ll keep in touch with family and friends if evacuated;
• Be familiar with natural warning signs – earthquakes, unusual sea behavior and unusual sea noises.

Coastal households in tsunami evacuation areas need to plan well in advance, particularly for a tsunami generated on or close to New Zealand’s coast, Randall added.