While testing tsunami sirens in Unalaska, neighboring communities were evacuated to higher ground

On Monday, in the middle of testing sirens in the city, Unalaska received a notification of a major earthquake southeast of Sand Point and a subsequent tsunami warning in communities east of Unalaska to the Kenai Peninsula.

It was bad timing, if you want, we’d tell everyone, ‘Hey, we’re running some tests,’ and then something catastrophic happened where we might have to activate [the sirens]Said Patrick Scheib, fire department chief for the Unalaska Fire and Emergency Medical Services division. “And then people are really in limbo [thinking] Is it real or not real? ”

Shib said public safety personnel were busy assessing the seven sirens of Alaska when news of a possible real tsunami emerged. They stopped taking the exams immediately and rescheduled them for Tuesday.

In hindsight, Shipp said, the department will try to limit the number of times they run the tests, so that Unalaska residents know when they hear them, and that it is a real emergency, and avoid the “boy who cried wolf” scenario.

We don’t want the audience to calm down every time they hear them say, “Oh, well, they must be testing them.” When they hear it, we want them to know that they need to act.

Back in June, after a series of earthquakes near Macuchen volcano, the city conducted a tsunami siren test at the island level. Officials found only three of the seven Alaskan sirens – purchased in 1996 – were working.

Since that test, Unalaska has been under tsunami warning after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southern Cheney in July, and the island was only 80 miles southwest of the warning zone on Monday.

But as of Monday’s close call, only three sirens still work for sure, one siren “most likely”, one siren that sometimes works, and the last two sirens don’t work at all, according to Shepp.

“So the sirens on Ballyhoo Road are on, the Bobby Storrs Boat Harbor is on, the Carl E Moses Boat Harbor is on, and we think we can have one in the PCR that’s on, and the whistles on the Amaknak Fire Station are intermittent,” he said.

The other two sirens – at Standard Oil Hill and in the Canyon – don’t work at all.

Sheep said public safety personnel will find out if the siren next to the PCR is working during the next monthly test, which is scheduled to take place on the second Wednesday in November.

Soon the city will have modern, fully functional sirens, with the latest technology, higher volume, and greater range – something the city has been working towards for a number of years, Sheep said.

“We have received two bids so far to replace all existing sirens with new digital triple communications,” said Shipp. “We hope in the next two weeks, we will choose any of the companies we travel with, and we hope that it will be replaced within the next six months.”

While Sheep said this is the perfect timing, things like the weather and delivery of crews to the island could change that schedule.

John Bauer, a geophysicist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory, said that the coastal Aleutian region will always experience some level of seismic activity given its location along the Aleutian Volcanic Arc, and it is important that people in the area continue to take the tsunami risks associated with this seismic activity very seriously.

“I think being able to get and respond to tsunami warnings is critical,” said Power. “If you look at some of these earthquakes that happened, like the earthquake in 1964, most of the deaths were caused by a tsunami. It is very important to have a well-functioning tsunami warning system.”

According to Shipp, getting a fully functional tsunami warning system on the island “at the top of the [the department’s] List now. “

He said, “Every time we have an earthquake, we think of the sirens of a tsunami, but we don’t always have real activation.” “I’ve only been here for seven months and we had one real revitalization and fear very soon on Monday. In my opinion, we’re pushing this thing forward and going as fast as we can to replace these things to protect this community.”

Sheep said management plans to get rid of the sirens at the Amanak fire station and instead place one at the end of the Naqaba Bay Road to ensure that in an actual emergency, anyone in this part of the Gulf – which is not currently being maintained – will hear the call.

He said, “Even if one or two of the new devices fail to work, given how much better technology is today, you’ll still be able to hear them all over town.”

According to Shepp, replacing the “on-the-field” sirens could cost around $ 250,000. But he said they hope to reduce these costs.

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