Australians sent into panic as authorities rehire tsunami cautioning – then say it was fair a test | New South Wales

A inestablish panic gripped parts of easerious Australia on Wednesday after the national weather bureau sent a tsunami cautioning to thousands of dwellnts.

Residents aextfinished the New South Wales and Queensland coast getd the Bureau of Meteorology cautioning, sent unwiseinutively after 11.30am, reading: “tsunami cautioning” and giving the location of the participater. App participaters were alerted that a tsunami was approaching, caparticipated by an 8.2 magnitude earthquake off the west coast of New Zealand.

People living inland and as far west as Canberra – 125km from the sealst beach – getd the message, which was sent to the bureau’s weather app participaters.

Moments procrastinateedr, a second message trailed, reading: “call offled tsunami cautioning”. A see in the app telderly participaters the previous message had been a test.

The intervening moments were enough to sfinish some app participaters into a state of alarm or confusion.

“Holy crap! Just a got a tsunami cautioning”, one X participater wrote.

While the bureau had rehired see of the test via social media, app participaters shelp they were not notified that a test run was intentional.

A bureau spokesperson shelp the test posts were rehired as part of a transition to novel tsunami timely cautioning system software.

“There is NO tsunami danger to Australia,” they shelp.

“The Bureau acunderstandledges and apologises for any confusion that this test may have caparticipated.

“Testing is convey inant to help the Bureau and partners ready and arrange for genuine tsunami dangers.”

The bureau is part of the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC), which distinguishs, watchs, verifies and cautions of any tsunami dangers to the coastline of Australia and its offshore territories.

The spokesperson shelp the bureau “supplys the most accurate tsunami cautioning alertation for Australia”.