False tsunami alert: Fire and Emergency NZ still investigating what triggered sirens

Monday, 20 January 2020

Many people took Sunday night's siren to be a tsunami warning.

A false tsunami alarm that had some Bay of Plenty residents fleeing their homes on Sunday night was due to a 'forgotten' system.

Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) spokesman Kerry Gregory updated media on the incident at Auckland FENZ regional headquarters on Monday afternoon.

Kerry Gregory said a 'patch' had been put in place to make sure there wasn't another false alarm.

FENZ was still investigating exactly what triggered the sirens, Gregory said.

He would not rule out human error playing a part but said FENZ did not suspect the system had been hacked.

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Of the alarms triggered, nine belonged to FENZ and three to other organisations including Surf Life Saving and the Baypark Speedway.

The alarms triggered were part of a 'complex arrangement of sirens,' Gregory said, coordinated by FENZ, Bay of Plenty Civil Defence and Spark.

Gregory said the system had been in place since 2006 but had been 'forgotten' as different groups had amalgamated.

A 'patch' had been put in place to make sure there wasn't a repeat incident on Monday night, but Gregory said the exact technical fault would need to be identified before FENZ could work out a long-term fix.

FENZ was working with the other agencies involved to work out exactly what was behind the false alarm.

The system was in place at about 23 other sites around New Zealand, he said. FENZ was working to identify exactly where the system still existed.

The sirens were activated on Sunday about 9.15pm, particularly around Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

Many people took the sirens to be a tsunami warning, but it was a false alarm caused by a technical fault.

The sirens went off in fire stations from Tauranga to Waihī, prompting an influx of calls to police.

On Monday morning, FENZ apologised to the people of Bay of Plenty for the error.

'We are focused on working alongside our partner agencies to find out what caused these sirens to activate. The activation was an error and there was no danger to the public,' chief executive Rhys Jones said in a statement.

'We are investigating the cause, and because our sirens are linked in to a nationwide emergency alert system, we will also work with other responding partners.'

Jones said despite the false alarm he asked people to retain confidence in the alert system of text message alarms and sirens: 'These alerts are life-savers.'