How much do you know about outdoor warning sirens?

October 07, 2020 Comments (6)

If you live within 10 miles of our nuclear power plants, you may have heard outdoor sirens mentioned once or twice. But, do you know what hearing a siren means?

Plant neighbors have most likely heard the quarterly outdoor warning siren testing along with an occasional maintenance test. Some may have heard sirens for the first time while working from home this year as they are tested during normal business hours.

Soundings of the outdoor warning sirens are meant to alert the public of an emergency so community members can tune into local radio or television stations for additional information. Hearing a siren does not mean you should evacuate.

We always expect our nuclear stations to operate safely. Our operators are highly skilled, very experienced and continuously trained to keep our plants – and our communities – safe. However, it’s smart to be prepared.

Watch this video to learn more:

We keep neighbors informed by sharing emergency preparedness information in mailed booklets, on our Duke Energy website and on our Duke Energy Nuclear Education Facebook and Twitter pages.

Need to know if you live within 10 miles of our nuclear power plants (also known as the emergency planning zones or EPZs)? View the interactive map for the plant closest to you.

Want more information on emergency planning?

Emergency planning – Why it’s a top priority

The who’s who of nuclear emergency planning

Have questions about emergency sirens? We have answers.

Comments (6)

Posted October 18, 2021 by Ellen Morton

While Duke Energy is responsible for maintaining the outdoor warning sirens in a 10-mile radius of each of our six nuclear facilities, local county government operates and sounds the sirens. From time to time they may chose to use them to alert their communities of weather-related events.

Posted October 13, 2021 by Brian

These sirens are not just for drills/events at the Nuclear plants. I was at the doctor's office when we heard the sirens going off at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Folks immediately disregarded the sirens saying it was just a drill from the nuclear site. My phone immediately started buzzing alerting me to a weather event (tornado) in the area. I communicated this to the folks in the doctor's office and encouraged everyone to move to an inside hallway. Fortunately there was no tornado or life threatening event.

Posted February 09, 2021 by Ellen Morton

Hello Mark! Robinson Nuclear Plant is operating safely. Duke Energy has received information that some emergency warning sirens are sounding in the emergency planning zone around Robinson Nuclear Plant. The plant is operating safely. There is no emergency at the plant. Duke Energy is working with local county and state emergency management to determine the cause of the siren activation. As a reminder, if you hear sirens and are not sure if it is a test or emergency, tune to a local radio or tv station in your area.

Posted February 09, 2021 by Ellen Morton

Posted February 09, 2021 by Mark

Why did it go off this morning (9 Feb 2021)?

Posted October 13, 2020 by Jon Scutt

What time will they go off

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