Australians panic as 8.2 magnitude quake hits, tsunami warning issued – but it was just a test

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Some residents of eastern Australia were in a state of panic on Wednesday morning after the Bureau of Meteorology sent out a test tsunami warning to residents across New South Wales, Queensland and as far inland as Canberra.

The alert, which was part of a new software test, indicated an 8.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of New Zealand, sparking panic among a number of users, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Screenshots shared by concerned users showed that the alerts appearing via the office's weather app did not include the word “test” in the title, even though the full text of the alert was clearly labeled as such.

The bureau sent out a message via its app at 11.32am, warning of a tsunami threat in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Users in the Blue Mountains and as far away as Canberra reportedly also received the alert.

Shortly after, another message was sent saying, “Tsunami warning cancelled,” which again made it clear that it was a test.

But the misunderstanding of the first message and the time gap between the two messages was enough to cause panic and confusion among some app users. Many users were surprised by this, despite the office’s advice to take the tests between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Wednesday, and ignored the alert.

“Tsunami warning in Australia? I hope it's just a warning and not an actual tsunami,” one user wrote on X.

“Nothing better than an occasional tsunami warning to get your heart rate up on a Wednesday,” another wrote.

The bureau later apologized for the confusion. A spokesman explained that the test messages were part of a transition to a new tsunami early warning system program.

“There is no tsunami threat to Australia,” the spokesman said.

“The Bureau acknowledges and apologizes for any confusion this test may have caused. The test is important to help the Bureau and partners prepare and plan for real tsunami threats.”

Some social media commentators also criticised app users who were misled by the test warning, accusing them of failing to pay attention to details as the alerts clearly indicated they were part of a test.

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