You shouldn't be too alarmed about the emergency sirens going off unscheduled at the Hagat Senior Citizens Center and Hagat Marina today.

Guam Homeland Security and Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Jenna Blas said the sirens went off "inadvertently."

Perhaps you should be alarmed that September is National Preparedness Month which aims to prepare families for natural disasters and emergencies that can happen anytime and anywhere.

And in an interview with KUAM News a month ago, blas said following the wrath of Typhoon Mawar, just four of the 21 All Hazards Alert Warning System sirens were fully operational.

"Unfortunately only four of them are currently fully operational," she said in August. "The rest, there are some issues. Either they only sound off the siren or just the text tone or the verbage. So we’re working through these issues and that’s why we test these on a monthly basis."

The four working sirens included the pair that went off accidentally today in Hagat.

Today Blas says it's unknown how many sirens are working as they are “still being assessed at this time.”

In last month’s interview, she said her office is working on procurement to fix the sirens, though she was unable to give a timeline or how much the repairs would cost.

"Not at this time," she had said. "We look forward to the updates throughout the rest of this month."

Today Blas explained what's causing the delay.

She said her office is seeking funding to repair and potentially upgrade the 20-year-old sirens through FEMA public assistance and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

She also adds the AHAWS sirens are just one form of "redundant communication." The other forms of communication during an emergency they use include media, the emergency alert system, mass email, social media, websites, and partner agencies.

“As Guam’s emergency management agency, the mission will continue but we also encourage individual preparedness within our community by preparing emergency kits within your households, and having a family communication plan in place,” she said.
To learn more about National Preparedness Month and ways to prepare as an individual or household, visit https://www.ready.gov/september.

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