PORT TOWNSEND — This week’s tests of the Fort Worden State Park All Hazards Alert Broadcast tsunami warning tower revealed an audible siren tone but lousy voice transmission, Jefferson County’s Emergency Management program manager said.
“I was underwhelmed,” Bob Hamlin said.
“The tone portion of it works fine. But the computer-generated voice which comes from the state emergency operations center was not of acceptable quality.”
The warning voice, delivered via satellite to Jefferson County’s newest tower at Fort Worden, comes from the state center at Camp Murray, near Fort Lewis.
When the device was activated locally, it worked well.
“I was able to activate it from my car on my local unit and it was fine, even the voice,” Hamlin said.
“It’s the transmission process that’s failing,” he was told by a representative of Federal Signal, which adjusted the tower after the test.
“The satellite is just not doing it. When you doing it locally, it’s OK.”
“I am certain if we had a hazard and had to move people off the beach, we could do it.”
Hamlin estimated that the sound was about 120 decibels at the tower, when it was tested Wednesday.
The same day, a tower at Diamond Point Airport on the Miller Peninsula was tested at 9:30 a.m.
Hamlin said it was audible at Cape George and Beckett Point.
“It was a clear day with not much ambient noise, ” he said.
The Fort Worden test had an echo delay of two to three seconds, Hamlin, said, which indicated to him that it could be hears as far away as Chetzemoka Park.
Even if the voice instructions can’t be heard, “if you hear the thing go off, go uphill. Don’t wait for the voice,” Hamlin said.
Two other Jefferson County towers are at Hudson Point and the Port of Port Townsend boat yard. Neither were tested on Wednesday.
