Thousands evacuated to higher ground during the March 5 tsunami evacuation in Whangārei, but on Monday night the sirens went off accidentally after a technical glitch. Photo / Mike Dinsdale
Thousands evacuated to higher ground during the March 5 tsunami evacuation in Whangārei, but on Monday night the sirens went off accidentally after a technical glitch. Photo / Mike Dinsdale
By Mike Dinsdale A tsunami siren false alarm caused widespread worry in parts of Northland with Northpower - which runs the siren network - apologising and vowing to do everything to ensure it doesn't happen again.
Northpower has apologised to people in the Kaipara and Whangārei Districts after an unnamed technical issue in its control systems caused the coastal tsunami sirens to activate from 8.21pm to 8.24pm on Monday night.
The false alarm comes after the tsunami siren network was sounded for real when an vacuation order was issued for Northland on March 5 after the massive 8.1 magnitude earthquake at the Kermadecs.
That alert saw tens of thousands of Northlanders, including around 15,000 from the city of Whangārei, evacuate to higher ground.
On Monday night hundreds of people got ready to evacuate - or started evacuating - before receiving notification that it was a false alarm.
However, many people had already become anxious or worried after the March 5 evacuation call.
Some Ruakākā residents were particularly concerned, especially as they say there were mixed messages about what to do on the Ruakākā Civil Defence page.
One Ruakākā woman said there were children in a panic and people with autism not understanding and very anxious at hearing the siren.
''(It) was too soon after a real event for many people's nervous systems. We understand things happen. Yet please realise this was too close to a massive evacuation and stresses, that it triggered many,'' she said.
Josie Boyd, General Manager of the Northpower electricity network, said she is acutely aware of how a false alarm like this so close to the March 5 tsunami warning in Northland would have caused a high level of anxiety for the community.
"We apologise to all those affected and are investigating the cause of the issue to ensure that this does not happen again," Boyd said.
''We are very sorry for scaring everyone with this false alarm. After last week's events we know this will have caused some concern.''
Northpower has apologised after a technical issue set off the tsunami sirens within the Kaipara and Whangārei on Wednesday night.
Northland Civil Defence also apologised for the false alarm and the effect it had on people.
''We're very much aware of the responsibility to our communities that comes with the alerting platforms we manage, and this is even more true in the wake of the events of Friday, March 5,'' it said in a statement.
Yesterday The Northern Advocate received angry calls, Facebook messages and emails about the false alarm, with one reader calling for heads to roll.
The woman, from Waipū, said she was furious at whoever pushed the button to set the alarms off.
''It caused a lot of stress in many households. Next time we won't be running and that is not appropriate. Civil Defence need to sort this problem out, and fast. Very disappointing.
''And as for the use of Facebook to let us know, 'it was a fault', did you ever consider that many elderly folk do not have computers?''
