The Puyallup River valley can expect monthly chimes in lieu of blaring sirens going forward.
Pierce County has upgraded the lahar siren system to include blue strobe lights, a voice message and a few sound options.
The Westminster chimes will play on the first Monday of every month to test the lahar sirens, saving the loud siren wail for actual emergencies.
“It’s part of the idea that people get used to them after a while, so people will hear the chime monthly and then sirens in a real situation. That makes you pay attention,” Emergency Management spokesperson Mike Halliday said.
The upgrade also added more sirens that will sound for more than just lahars. The more than 40 sirens have been placed around the Puyallup River valley and Nisqually River basin to alert those nearby of natural hazards and disasters.
Pierce County Emergency Management’s Josh Aktins said they will notify residents and visitors to earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, lahars, wildfires and shelter-in-place or evacuation orders.
The blue flashing strobe lights will go off with every alert, and messages will play between siren wails or beeps. The voice recording will alert those outside to seek more information about a disaster or provide brief advice in English and Spanish, like to seek higher ground in disasters like tsunamis and flooding.
“If they were to be activated, blue strobe lights that flash would get the attention of those hard of hearing or deaf to see what’s going on,” Halliday said.
Mount Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to its potential for lahars. A lahar is ice and snow from the mountain’s peak melting during an eruption and forming a hot mudslide that can travel up to 40 mph.
The last lahar from Mount Rainier was in the year 1500 and was not caused by a volcanic eruption. A weak section of the volcano collapsed under the weight of the rock and ice.
Atkins said it was a “no notice event.”
The state said Puyallup River valley residents could have as little as 40 minutes to evacuate before mudslides reach tens of thousands of homes in Orting. A strong lahar could push debris to the Tacoma Tideflats from Mount Rainier within two hours, Atkins said.
The siren wail will be used exclusively for lahars. Other natural hazards and disasters will have loud, repetitive beeps between voice recordings.
The upgrade was paid for with $1.7 million in state grants. Sirens were placed in areas recommended by geological experts and those seeing high population growth, Aktins said.
Before the updates began eight months ago, 27 sirens would wail monthly as they would if a lahar was detected. The county would receive concerned calls, Halliday said.
Now, the monthly sirens will have a voice message saying, “This is a test,” and use chimes instead of wails. Pierce County’s Department of Emergency Management decided to skip the outdoor warning system test in October to notify residents of the change. Homes received postcards explaining the new siren, Halliday said.
The month of October is the exception. Beginning in 2021, the first Monday of every October will use the siren wails rather than chimes to test that the siren alarm works effectively.
ALERTS
It’s important residents sign up for emergency alerts that will notify of natural hazards, disasters and calls to evacuate or shelter in place, Halliday said.
The late summer wildfires in Pierce County increased emergency alert subscription by more than 230 percent, Atkins said. More than half of the county’s population has subscribed.
Many have yet to fill out an online address form, Atkins said.
“It’s not a spy thing,” Atkins said. “It’s so if we have an alert for that area, we can notify you and get specific information about that area to you.”