At noon on Sunday 28 September, Auckland Civil Defence will be running the second of their twice-yearly checks of the tsunami sirens on the north and west Auckland coasts to coincide with daylight savings.
"The public should not be alarmed and are not required to do anything," says Civil Defence and Emergency Management Director Clive Manley.
"We run these tests to check operational performance and familiarise residents with the siren tones. The sirens are just one of a number of technology-based public warning systems that Auckland Civil Defence has in place for the entire region to better prepare for natural disasters," says Mr Manley.
"People can also subscribe to SMS text messaging alerts, the Auckland Civil Defence smartphone app or engage with us via Twitter and Facebook," he says.
The tsunami sirens are located in Rodney at Point Wells, Whangateau, Omaha and Waiwera. In Waitakere sirens are located at Bethells Beach Te Henga, Piha North, Piha South, Karekare, Whatipu, Little Huia, Huia, Te Atatu South, Harbour View Road, Te Atatu Peninsula North, Westpark Marina, Hobsonville Airbase (Harrier Point) and Herald Island.
The test sequence will be three sets of tones, each signalling a specific action. They will sound for one minute each and there will be 15 seconds between each set. In an emergency, tones will sound for longer.
The siren patterns and the way they will sound in an emergency are:
Alert (dash - dash - dot - dot) sounds for 15 minutes and indicates threat of tsunami. Evacuate beaches, prepare for full evacuation and monitor the radio or television for more information.
Evacuate (dot - dot - dot) continuous bursts for 15 minutes indicates immediate evacuation to the nearest safe high ground and to avoid using personal transport unless essential.
All clear (continuous tone) sounds for 5 minutes indicate threat has passed. Return to premises if they have not been affected and follow directions of the emergency services if your area has been affected.
The siren sounds are also available as an audio file online.
The Auckland Civil Defence Application is a free downloadable application for smartphones including iPhone, Android and Windows devices.
As an emergency may affect data networks and/or text messaging services, there is also the option to subscribe to receive SMS text message alerts as an extra precaution. Get more information on the Auckland Civil Defence Application.
Follow Auckland Civil Defence on Twitter @AucklandCDEM and Facebook "Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management".
Find out everything you need to get ready for an emergency on the Auckland Civil Defence website.