If you start hearing crazy alarms from 10 a.m. to noon today on the Balboa Peninsula, stay calm.

Newport Beach is testing out siren systems for tsunamis to see which one would be best to notify residents if one hits the coastline.   

The city asks that residents do not call 911.

All coastal cities two years ago started implementing plans to become “TsunamiReady,” after nearly 200,000 people were killed in a devastating tsunami in Indonesia. Read more about OC’s risk and how cities prepare. Since 1980, there have been tsunami warnings issued in Southern California in May 1986, October 1994 and June 2005.

The siren will be heard throughout the Balboa Peninsula, Balboa Island, portions of Corona del Mar and other areas within at least a one-mile radius of the Balboa Pier, according to a letter from the city.  

The test will include five sirens and voice systems that will each be sounded for about three minutes.

“These systems are intended to be very loud. Outdoor activities may be temporarily disrupted during the testing period,” the letter reads.

For more information, go to www.city.newport-beach.ca.us or (949) 644-3111.

Tsunami Facts:
- Tsunamis are triggered by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, submarine landslides, and by onshore landslides in which large volumes of debris fall into the water. 

- A tsunami is not a single wave, but a series of waves.  Time between these great waves can be as long as 45 minutes from one wave to the next.

- All earthquakes do not cause tsunamis, but many do. 

When you feel a large earthquake:
- Drop, cover, hold until the earthquake is over, protect yourself.
- Move immediately inland to high ground and away from coastal areas.
- Go on foot if at all possible.
- Do not wait for an official warning.
- Do not return to the beach.
- Wait for an “all clear” from local emergency officials before returning to low-lying areas.

- Never go down to the beach to watch for a tsunami.

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