Field report - Christchurch tsunami sirens (New Brighton, 28 Sept 2025)

In May 2025, the Christchurch City Council (CCC) had one of their staff members prepare a review of the tsunami alerting system for Christchurch. The review concluded that the majority of Christchurch’s 45 tsunami sirens, from Taylor’s Mistake to Brooklands, should be removed and that Christchurch should follow the example of the North Island by switching to mobile alerts as the primary alert method for dealing with tsunamis. This conclusion was affirmed by the Christchurch City Council in a meeting held on 18 June 2025.

On 28 September 2025, a test of the existing tsunami sirens in the neighbourhood of New Brighton was scheduled. I went out there to check for myself exactly how audible or inaudible these sirens are, and I recorded a brief report outlining some basics of what is involved in this issue, from the point of view of Christchurchers and in particular residents of the city's coastal neighbourhoods.