Penang will upgrade six more tsunami siren sites, extending a state-wide replacement of the equipment that alerts coastal residents when a tsunami is detected. The work is scheduled to run to the end of this year or early next year. The sirens have not been used to issue an actual tsunami warning since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.
Penang Meteorological Office meteorological officer Mazlan Ishak said the upgraded sirens have passed signal transmission tests, with every signal sent during the exercise received by the system. He spoke during a testing exercise at the floating mosque in Tanjung Bungah. Penang operates 12 tsunami warning sirens, 10 on the island and two in Seberang Prai, according to NST.
Four locations already run the new equipment: Tanjung Bungah, Teluk Bahang, Batu Ferringhi and Balik Pulau. The next phase covers Miami Beach, Gurney Drive, Dewan Sri Pinang, the Tanjung Tokong police station, Sungai Burung and Sungai Pinang, Utusan reported.
The upgraded units carry speakers that rotate through 360 degrees, while the older speakers pushed sound in one direction. A smart digital board is designed to improve how the sirens receive and process warning signals. Mazlan said the new units can carry sound about 2km to 3km, depending on the weather. The older system has been in service for about 10 years.
The sirens are tested twice a year, in the middle and at the end of the year, so the equipment is checked while it is still in service. Personnel and nearby residents are told in advance through radio announcements and other channels before testing begins, which prevents confusion when a siren sounds. The latest exercise carried trial and warning signals, and the system received all of them.
Penang’s work forms part of a national push by MetMalaysia through the Earthquake and Tsunami Service Empowerment Project to Reduce the Risk of Earthquake and Tsunami Disasters, which aims to strengthen warning services for coastal communities. The programme covers the first major overhaul of Malaysia’s tsunami sirens in more than a decade. The earlier phase raised the siren masts to 16m from 10m, The Star noted. The same report said the system can pass earthquake information to the public within eight minutes of sensor detection.
Mazlan said the upgrades are meant to keep the state’s warning infrastructure ready, so alerts go out when they are needed.
