Monthly Test of Statewide Warning Sirens Scheduled This Week

The state is notifying the public that the monthly test of the all-hazard Statewide Outdoor Warning Siren System is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Friday, July 1.

The siren test will be coordinated with a test of the live audio broadcast segment of the Emergency Alert System at roughly the same time.

During this monthly test, all statewide outdoor warning sirens will sound for one minute. There will be no exercise or drill accompanying the tests.

The outdoor siren system is one part of the state’s Statewide Alert and Warning System, used to notify the public during emergencies. Upon hearing a siren tone in circumstances other than a test, follow emergency information and instructions provided by official government channels. These might be in the form of a local radio or television station broadcast and/or a cellular Wireless Emergency Alert.

Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert 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 in the front of telephone directories in all counties. For the latest information or to sign up for county alerts, click here.

To report siren operation issues on the Big Island, call 808-935-0031.

Siren fast facts from the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency:

• Hawai‘i has the largest single integrated outdoor siren warning system in the world.
• The all-hazard siren system can be used for a variety of natural and human-caused events, including tsunami, hurricanes, dam breaches, flooding, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, terrorist threats, hazardous material incidents and more.
• Sirens output 121 decibels and propagate with a manufacture radius of 3,400 feet. This range can vary because of environmental and surrounding physical conditions. The sirens are battery-powered and use a photovoltaic charging system.
• The sirens, along with the Emergency Alert System, are tested on the first business day of each month in collaboration with county emergency management/civil defense agencies and local radio/TV/cable broadcast partners.
• When a siren tone is heard other than a scheduled test, tune into local radio/TV/cable stations for emergency information and instructions by official authorities. If you are in a low laying area near the coastline, evacuate to high ground, inland or vertically to the fourth floor or higher of a concrete building. Alerts can also come in the form of a Wireless Emergency Alert.