Central Highlands Regional Council will be testing its emergency early warning sirens at Sapphire and Graves Hill on Wednesday 10 June 2020 between 9.00 am and 3.00 pm.
People in the vicinity will hear sirens up to five times, lasting up to two minutes each time, and should not be alarmed as it is a test only. Each test will include a siren tone followed by a voice message.
As part of floodplain management work, council has installed rain and river height gauges across the region. With tourists frequently camping in the Gemfields area, peoples’ safety had been flagged as an issue. Council invested $300,000 for sirens to communicate early flood or bushfire warnings to people in Sapphire and Graves Hill.
In the future, if sirens are activated outside of testing, people are urged to visit council’s Emergency Management Dashboard and follow advice from emergency services personnel.