The following media release comes from the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group.

If you receive a Civil Defence alert or hear a continuous siren sounding at 10 am on Friday, 6 May, please remain calm: it’s only a test.

The Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group will be testing all the Civil Defence alerting systems across the Bay of Plenty to make sure that the activation system is working correctly.

Text and email alerts will be sent and updates posted on Facebook, Twitter, and the Civil Defence website. This is only a test to make sure that the activation system is working correctly, so no action is necessary.

Emergency Management Bay of Plenty Director Clinton Naude said that all fixed sirens in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will sound a continuous, constant tone for up to one minute. This includes fixed sirens at Matatā, Coastlands, Whakatāne, Ōhope, Ōhiwa, Waiōtahe, Ōpōtiki and Waihau Bay.

“In a real event, the sirens would sound for 10 minutes with a constant rise. Note that sirens are not an instruction to evacuate, but to seek further information by tuning into the radio or checking for further information in the text or email alert,” said Mr Naude.

“During an emergency, people should tune in to Radio 1XX (90.5/92.9 FM or 1242 AM) to receive information about any potential threat in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.”

Mr Naude hopes that the test will also prompt local people to make sure they’re prepared for a Civil Defence emergency.

“There are simple things we can all do now – sign up to text and email alerts at www.bopcivildefence.govt.nz, prepare a ‘survival kit’, and talk to the family. You can find out more about getting prepared at www.getthru.govt.nz,” he said.