BoM in damage control after tsunami alert test sparks confusion
The Bureau of Meteorology is in damage control after issuing a tsunami alert for Queensland that left many people confused and annoyed.
It turns out it was just a test but the bureau has been forced to apologise.
In a post on Facebook, the bureau confirmed: “There is NO tsunami threat to Australia”.
It said test posts were issued on the BOM weather app between 11am-12pm AEST as part of the planned transition to new tsunami early warning system software.
“The bureau acknowledges and apologises for any confusion that this test may have caused,” the post read.
“The test warnings were sent to the BOM Weather app for various locations. The test warnings were cancelled immediately after they were issued.
“Testing is important to help the bureau and partners prepare and plan for real tsunami threats.”
The initial warning issued for residents stretching kilometres of the Queensland coastline from Groote Eylandt to the Gold Coast, left people concerned, with many taking to social media. Some with a simple “WTF?”, while others admitted they were confused.
“Confused about why the BoM app just sent out a tsunami warning for the east coast? Looks like a test alert went out to the app for a fictional 8.2 magnitude earthquake off New Zealand.”
Another wrote: “Nothing quite like a casual tsunami warning to get the heat (sic) rate up on a Wednesday.”
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The bureau is part of the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre which detects, monitors, verifies and warns of any tsunami threats to the coastline of Australia and its offshore territories.
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