Authorities are blaming a software glitch for a false tsunami alarm on parts of the Washington Coast Monday.
Around noon, the state's tsunami warning sirens sent out test alarms through several coastline counties: Jefferson, Clallam and Grays Harbor.
Clallam County residents were supposed to hear the 'Westminster Chimes' to signal it was a test. Instead, they heard a real tsunami threat warning.
"The AHAB tsunami alarms stationed along the Clallam County Coastline were initiated with a warning to residents that tsunami dangers were imminent causing alarm in many residents," according to the sheriff's office.
Contrary to the alarms, there was no real threat to residents.
The sirens are scheduled for tests on the first Monday of each month. The test signals do not typically include statements of evacuation or other emergency signals as heard in the Clallam County alarms issued Monday. Instead, the sirens typically play the "Westminster Chimes" to signal a test.
In Jefferson County, one siren failed to play the test chimes, while sirens at Cosmopolis Beach in Grays Harbor County made a gargling sound, said Mark Stewart with the Department of Emergency Management (DEM).
Washington's DEM, the state's agency that runs the tests, believes a software problem caused the test malfunctions.
