North Anna Sirens Tested This Week
The siren tests take place at the Louisa, Va., nuclear power plant on a quarterly basis: Feb. 21, May 16, Aug. 15, and Nov. 14.
State officials led by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management will join local officials and representatives of Dominion Energy to test the early warning siren system around the North Anna Power Station in Louisa, Va., on Feb. 21 at approximately 11:10 a.m. A steady three-minute tone will be sounded by 68 sirens in Caroline, Hanover, Louisa, Orange, and Spotsylvania counties. All of the sirens are located within a 10-mile radius of the nuclear power plant.
VDEM's announcement said if there were an actual emergency at the plant, residents would hear four separate three-minute activations, each separated by a one-minute silent interval. The total elapsed time for actual emergency notification is 15 minutes. During an emergency, when sirens sound, residents should listen to local officials and local media outlets that broadcast emergency information for updates and instructions, according to the agency.
Emergency guides are mailed to surrounding households and additional information about the siren system, emergency notifications, and safety planning can be found on this Dominion Energy website: https://www.dominionenergy.com/about-us/making-energy/nuclear/north-anna-power-station.
The siren tests take place at the North Anna Power Station on a quarterly basis: Feb. 21, May 16, Aug. 15, and Nov. 14.