At 11:10 a.m. on Wed., Sept. 14, a test will be conducted of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the early warning siren system at the Surry Power Station.
A steady three-minute tone will sound by 71 sirens in Williamsburg, Newport News, and Surry, James City, York and Isle of Wight counties for the early warning siren system.
The EAS test is a coordination between the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and Dominion Energy Virginia, and is available through participating radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio, television providers and wireline video providers. EAS will last for approximately one minute.
Testing is held at the Surry Station on a quarterly basis, a press release stated. In the event of an actual emergency, residents would hear four separate three-minute activations of the early warning siren system, each separated by one minute of silence. The total time for an actual emergency notification is 15 minutes.
Transitioning from sirens to the wireless emergency alert system is on hold until final approval is received from FEMA.
When sirens sound during an actual emergency, residents are encouraged to listen to local and state officials and local media outlets for emergency information updates and instructions. Households receive emergency guides via mail, and additional information is available on Dominion Energy’s website.
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Rebecca Barnabi
