Big Island sirens will blast for one minute on Dec. 1, as part of the latest monthly test conducted by the Statewide Outdoor Warning Siren System.
The 11:45 a.m. Attention Alert Signal (SteadyTone) test will be coordinated with a test of the Live Audio Broadcast segment of Hawai‘i’s Emergency Alert System in cooperation with Hawai‘i’s broadcast industry, according to the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency.
Outdoor warning sirens throughout Hawai‘i test one-minute attention alert signals (SteadyTone) on a monthly basis. Photo Courtesy: Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency
There will be no exercise or drill accompanying the test, which will take place throughout the state.
Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency officials considered postponing the test because of the ongoing eruption of Mauna Loa in case there was a chance it could be confused with an actual emergency resulting from the eruption.
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“We contacted our Hawai‘i County partners to see whether they were concerned that the test might confuse the public,” said Luke Myers, Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency administrator in a press release. “But they made it clear they thought the test should go on this week to protect against future threats.”
No sirens have been activated during the eruption because the lava is not an imminent threat to communities. Although slow-moving lava still presents a potential threat to the Daniel K. Inouye Highway and areas farther downhill, the molten rock now is moving at less than a mile an hour in wide open high country.
Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency is working with its partners to monitor the lava and plan for any consequences of the eruption.
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The all-hazard Outdoor Siren Warning System for Public Safety is the largest of its kind in the world, according to HI-EMA. It’s one part of Hawai‘i’s Statewide Alert & Warning System used to notify the public during emergencies. If you hear this siren tone in circumstances other than a test, follow emergency information and instructions provided by official government channels. These may be in the form of a local radio or television station broadcast, and/or a cellular Wireless Emergency Alert.
Wireless Emergency Alert delivers sound-and-text warnings to compatible mobile cellular phones. The Emergency Alert System & Wireless Emergency Alert’s notifications are managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, the nation’s alert and warning infrastructure.
Emergency management and disaster preparedness information is located at the front section of telephone directories in all counties. For the latest information from HI-EMA, or to sign up for county alerts, visit ready.hawaii.gov.
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The public may contact emergency management and county civil defense agencies to report siren operation issues through the following numbers:
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