Northland has its 200th outdoor tsunami siren – one of 12 new sirens which are being installed by Northpower throughout Northland ahead of the next round of siren testing, on the morning of Sunday 7 April.

The siren network is checked twice a year, coinciding with the start and finish of daylight saving.

Sirens from Te Hapua in the north to Mangawhai in the south and Ruawai in the west - will sound twice: firstly at 10am for 10 minutes and then again at 10.30am for 30 seconds, and will be monitored for any faults.

Victoria Harwood, spokesperson for the Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group, said Northland already has more tsunami sirens than any other region of New Zealand and there is an ongoing programme to expand the network.

The locations of the 12 newly-added sirens are Whangaruru North (Bland Bay) and Oakura Road; two in the Whangarei CBD (Commerce Street and Porowini Ave); two on Whangarei Heads Road in Onerahi; Parua Bay; one on Ruakaka Beach Road plus a further three elsewhere along Ruakaka Beach (Surfside Road, Ata Mahina Way and Bream Bay Drive); and one on Cove Road, Waipu.

Plug-in indoor sirens are also available for purchase by those who live in tsunami evacuation zones in Northland but, for whatever reason, are unable to hear their nearest outdoor sirens. These units are tested at the same time as the outdoor network.

Siren testing is an opportunity for Northland residents and visitors to find out if they live, work or play in a tsunami evacuation zone, and plan their evacuation route, by checking out Northland tsunami evacuation maps at www.nrc.govt.nz/evacuationzones

Mrs Harwood added that people should also be aware of the risk of local source tsunami (those generated on or close to the coast), which could arrive ahead of any official warning. “Everyone who spends time on the coast needs to know the natural warning signs of tsunami – a strong earthquake that is hard to stand up in or one that lasts longer than a minute, or out-of-the ordinary sea behaviour, such as sudden rise or fall and/or unusual noise.”

To hear Northland’s outdoor and indoor tsunami sirens online visit www.nrc.govt.nz/tsunamisirens