SURRY — The siren test for the Surry Power Station’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) didn’t go according to plan on Wednesday, June 9 after crews found an issue with the system during the test.
The siren test was supposed to occur at 11:10 a.m. on Wednesday morning, but according to a June 9 tweet from James City County, the sirens “did not activate as they should.”
On June 9, an issue was identified during scheduled testing of the emergency siren system used to inform the public of an emergency at Surry Power Station. The sirens did not activate as they should. An investigation is ongoing into the cause of the failure. pic.twitter.com/mpspjCCdAK
— James City County (@JamesCityCounty) June 10, 2021
Ken Holt, spokesperson for Dominion Energy said that the investigation and troubleshooting the issue is ongoing.
Though the sirens are one way to notify residents of an emergency, it’s not Surry Power Station’s only method.
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“We do have back up plans in place to notify the community if there is an emergency,” Holt said.
The state has the ability to send Wireless Emergency Alerts to cell phones and mobile devices, similar to receiving Amber Alerts or tornado warnings.
Local law enforcement agencies also have the ability to access the sirens, according to Holt. If the sirens fail to activate in an emergency, or if siren alerting is not available in an area, local law enforcement officials will use emergency service vehicles equipped with public address systems to alert residents.
According to Holt, Dominion Energy is uncertain if another siren test will be scheduled, but a public alert will go out if a date is chosen.
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