Hanford Site to Activate Emergency Sirens Tomorrow

Don't be alarmed if you hear the Hanford Emergency Sirens tomorrow, it's just a test from the U.S Department of Energy's Hanford site.

According to a press release from the site, the sirens are set to go off on April 15th.

Here are the details:

The sirens will be activated tomorrow between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. in the 100 Area of the Hanford Site, near the Columbia River, east of Vernita Bridge, and approximately 27 miles north of Richland. People near the 100 Area may hear the sirens, but no response is required. Sirens will also be activated in the 200 Areas in the central portion of the Site, but these sirens are not generally heard off the Hanford Site.

According to the press release, a public address announcement that "this is a drill message" will be made before and following the siren tone.

In the event of an actual emergency, county officials said they'd activate the Emergency Alert System to broadcast information to the public via local radio and television stations.

Sirens located along the Columbia River would also be activated if necessary to warn people on the Columbia River.

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Does anyone remember the sirens that went off as a kid? I lived in the small town of Clarkston Washington growing up and I remember sirens going off at Noon and 10 PM curfew.

It was a blaring siren that wasn't hard to miss hearing. I think they discontinued the siren after the 1980s but I still remember that screeching sound after all these years.

No worries, the Hanford Sirens are just a routine drill to make sure the emergency signals are working when we really need to use them.