PORT ANGELES — Winchester chimes will be heard at noon Monday in Clallam and Jefferson counties during a test of the tsunami siren system.
Those who are outside and within 4,000 feet of the sirens will hear the chimes, followed by a voice saying the sound was only a test. The Winchester chimes sound is used for testing. The wailing siren sound would be in the case of a real-world warning.
In Jefferson County, sirens are at three sites in Port Townsend — the Port Townsend marina, Point Hudson and Fort Worden — and on the Hoh reservation on the West End.
In Clallam County, sirens are at Diamond Point, Dungeness Fire Station, Four Seasons Ranch, Marine Drive in Port Angeles, Lower Elwha Klallam Community Center, Clallam Bay, the Quileute A-Ka-Lat Community Center in La Push and two sites in Neah Bay.
The sirens will sound a warning as part of a notification system for people outside of buildings and on beaches of coastal communities.
Wednesday at noon is the next test date for the NOAA AHAB radios that many Peninsula residents have inside their homes and businesses. This will be a voice-only test of the NOAA alert system.
The testing of the sirens and radio systems is a key component of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s and Jefferson and Clallam counties’ Tsunami Ready programs.
For more information, visit www.emd.wa.gov, http://www.clallam.net/emergencymanagement/ or www.jeffcoeoc.org.
According to a press release, Monday marks the third year in a row that World Tsunami Awareness Day aligns with the International Day for Disaster Reduction.
The National Weather Service has included tsunamis in its annual fall safety campaign and is supporting World Tsunami Awareness Day by providing information at https://www.weather.gov/wrn/fall2018-tsunami-sm.
More information about World Tsunami Awareness Day can be found on the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction website at https://www.unisdr.org/tsunamiday.
Along the low lying coastal areas of Clallam County, there are several warning signs that show the need to get safely to higher ground and away from the beach as a tsunami is indicated, according to the press release.
A strong or long earthquake; sudden rise or fall of the ocean; loud roar from the ocean; or hearing the three minutes of wailing of a tsunami siren all indicate the need to protect your head from falling objects and get to higher ground.
