PSA: Tsunami siren test today in WA state

The Heretic · Oct 20, 2022

Washington Emergency Management Division posted a local alert for Skagit County and 8 other counties.

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Today is the Great Washington ShakeOut! At about 10:20 a.m., more than 100 tsunami sirens will be activated on the Coast of Washington. They will have the actual, high pitched WAILING sound. Please do not call 911. At the same time, folks across the state will drop, cover and hold on. You're invited to participate! Some schools may practice evacuation drills so please be cautious. #ShakeOut
There is also scheduled to be a test of the MyShake Earthquake Early Warning app, but you must DOWNLOAD it to work. Find download links at https://mil.wa.gov/alerts#shakealert

Where are the Tsunami Sirens located at? The outer Coast of Washington as well as the upper Puget Sound area. You can find maps here: https://mil.wa.gov/tsunami#sirens

What do the sirens sound like? A high-pitched noise. You can hear it here. https://mil.wa.gov/asset/5d1ce98da1603. There will also be a voice message in English and Spanish after. The voice sound may be muffled to you depending on where you live. The sirens are only meant to be heard if you are near them.

Will I hear the sirens inside my house? UNLIKELY. These sirens are meant to be heard if you are OUTSIDE within 100 feet of all directions of the sirens. We encourage you to have a NOAA Weather Radio to act as an inside warning for you. They cost about $40 and some local emergency management agencies even give them away at preparedness fairs. There WILL be a NOAA Weather Radio test.

Will the sirens not on the coast be tested? Pierce County will NOT be testing their All Hazard Alert Broadcast Sirens. However, Franklin and Benton counties WILL be testing their sirens today, but it may not be at 10:20 a.m.

I legitimately should have heard a tsunami siren near me and it didn't go off. Who should I contact? Please use this form https://bit.ly/EMDPrepare There is even an email address on the form if you want to contact us directly that way.
I didn't get the MyShake App test. Why not? We don't control their test, but they are answering questions on their FAQ here. https://myshake.berkeley.edu/faq.html#mobile-app

How does the earthquake early warning system work? Learn more here https://www.pnsn.org/pnsn-data.../earthquake-early-warning
I want to learn more about ShakeOut. Register at shakeout.org/Washington and find more there!

Burt Gummer · Nov 8, 2022

Late to respond. I grew up at Cannon Beach and Seaside. My stomping grounds as a problem child.

When sirens go off on a busy, sunny day and all the tourists are having a great time, even if they realize what is happening, they head for their cars.

Instant gridlock. The correct thing is to get to the highest ground possible or roof of the nearest modern concrete/steel structure.
Just go! But people are lemmings and monkey see, monkey do. Sit in their cars and await death.