Attack Warning Signal to Be Tested Dec. 1

On Dec. 1, 2017 at 11:45 a.m., there will be a siren sounding by the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HEMA), formally known as Hawai‘i State Civil Defense Agency.

Hawai‘i’s monthly test of the Statewide Outdoor Warning Siren System, coordinated with the test of the Live Audio Broadcast segment of the Emergency Alert System, is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1, 2017 at 11:45 a.m.

During this test, all warning sirens will sound a one-minute Attention Alert Signal (Steady Tone) followed by a one-minute Attack Warning Signal (Wailing Tone).

This will be the first month for the reinstatement of the Attack Warning Signal testing. There will be no exercise or drill on this day.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, Gov. David Ige, Director of Emergency Management Major General Arthur J. Logan and Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency Administrator Vern Miyagi discussed the need for the Attack Warning Signal, how it will be used and what their agencies are doing to prepare our state for a nuclear threat.

The Attention Alert Signal informs residents to turn on a radio or television for information and instruction for an impending emergency, or if in a coastal inundation area, evacuate to higher grounds.

The Attack Warning Signal directs residents to seek immediate shelter and remain sheltered in place until an all-clear message is broadcasted over radio or television.

Tests of the outdoor warning sirens and the Emergency Alert System are conducted simultaneously, normally on the first working day of the month, in cooperation with Hawai‘i’s broadcast industry. Emergency management and disaster preparedness information is located at the front section of telephone directories in all counties.

Contact your emergency management/county civil defense agency to report siren operation issues:

Hawai‘i County: (808) 935-0031
Maui County: (808) 270-7285
City and County of Honolulu: (808) 723-8960
Kaua‘i County: (808) 241-1800