City of Newport Beach, CA – Tsunami & Public Safety Warnings
Situation
Following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Northern California in June 2005, a tsunami warning advisory for the West Coast triggered confusion and gridlock as thousands of Newport Beach residents tried to evacuate the Balboa Peninsula.
Shortly thereafter, the City of Newport Beach installed mechanical tsunami warning air raid sirens.
Problem
Most emergency warning installations sound sirens, but are incapable of broadcasting intelligible voice notifications containing critical information about the nature of the emergency and potentially life‑saving instructions.
Mobile phone alerts are dependent on cell towers that are prone to fail during power outages, wildfires, tsunamis and other crisis situations.
In 2019, city officials found that the metal sirens had rusted and were non‑functional.
City staff determined it was more cost effective to replace the air raid sirens with non‑mechanical systems that included voice broadcast capabilities.
Solution
After evaluating and testing several systems, the Newport City Council selected the industry‑leading area coverage, vocal clarity, and connectivity options of industry‑leading Genasys ACOUSTICS.
This state‑of‑the‑art solution provides voice‑based mass notification that works with standard electricity, satellite connectivity, and solar‑powered backup batteries.
An August 2019 staff report stated that, “A key improvement over the existing system is voice command capabilities. During a disaster, public safety officials can sound the siren and then give voice commands over the speaker system instructing community members on exactly what to do.”
Self‑contained or easily integrated with existing infrastructure, and featuring solar power, battery backup and satellite connectivity, Genasys ACOUSTICS systems are highly effective in delivering life‑safety announcements and emergency notifications during floods, fires, earthquakes and other disasters.
“In addition to clear voice messaging, multiple siren tone options and a clean visual aesthetic, Genasys speaker arrays continue to operate when power and telecommunications go down.”
- Katie Eing, Emergency Services Coordinator, City of Newport Beach
• Genasys Protect gives organizations precision in who they reach, speed to act faster, and clarity that cuts through confusion.
• Genasys Acoustics deliver highly audible and clear voice messaging when emergencies arise.
• Genasys Evertel provides secure, real‑time communication and collaboration.
• Genasys Protect mobile app provides a single authoritative source for the public during emergencies.
