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Christchurch’s tsunami warning sirens will be tested on Sunday at 11am.
The sirens along the coastline between Brooklands and Taylors Mistake will sound for up to 3min as part of routine testing.
Usually the sirens are tested each year at the beginning and end of daylight saving time, but this year the scheduled test in April did not go ahead because of the lockdown, said Rob Orchard, Christchurch City Council's head of civil defence and emergency management.
"It was a stressful time for many and we didn’t want to cause any anxiety or confusion by testing the sirens during the level 4 lockdown," he said.
"However, we are now at a lower alert level so we are going to proceed with this weekend’s scheduled test.
"People should not be alarmed to hear the sirens going off and don’t need to evacuate.
"The testing of the sirens, though, is a good reminder to people in coastal and riverside areas that they should have an evacuation plan in place so that everyone in the family knows what to do and where to go if there is a tsunami evacuation.
"While we are likely to get advanced warning of a distance-source tsunami triggered by a large earthquake overseas, if a tsunami is triggered by a very large earthquake closer to New Zealand people may need to evacuate quickly so they should have an emergency bag at the ready.
"In the event of a local or regional source tsunami, there may not be enough time to activate the warning sirens. In those circumstances, the most important warning is the earthquake itself, which is why we encourage people to adhere to the national tsunami message – ‘Long or strong, get gone’,’’ Mr Orchard says.
Check this online interactive map to find out if you live or work in a tsunami evacuation zone.