Inadvertent activation of emergency siren at NH nuclear plant prompts closure of nearby beaches

SEABROOK, N.H. — An emergency siren that was inadvertently activated at a nuclear power plant in New Hampshire on Tuesday morning sent nearby residents into a frenzy and temporarily closed area beaches.

The siren sounded at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, but New Hampshire homeland security officials quickly announced that there was no emergency at the plant and no danger to the public.

Beachgoers in Hampton, Seabrook, and Rye said they got messages that urged people to evacuate the beaches and to turn their radios on, according to the Hampton Police Department.

“Everyone was running around, our neighbors were asking, do we leave? What should we do?” said Leah Linnehan of Lowell.

“We were alerted to leave the beach, there was a problem with the power plant and we could get no more information,” Rose Saviano said.

“We all kind of got ready to grab our valuables and kind of get in the car and get going because we weren’t sure what was happening,” added Leah Linnehan.

The announcement, however, was made accidentally.

“We are aware of the sirens calling for an evacuation near Seabrook Station,” NextEra Energy Resources Spokesperson Bill Orlove said. “The sirens’ activation was sent in error during testing of the system.”

Nevertheless, this did not stop concerned residents from taking precautions. Nearby towns such as Exeter report they received multiple calls from concerned citizens about the perceived emergency.

Multiple other agencies, including Governor Chris Sununu, were notified of the mishap. Local authorities ultimately assured the public that there was no need to evacuate.

“Seabrook Station is currently operating with no issues that impact the nearby community,” Orlove continued. “We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused.”

In a real emergency, the Town of Seabrook is supposed to be notified right away.

But in this case, it was a full thirty minutes after that alert was issued that the town was notified, and that’s not sitting well with the town manager.

Town Manager William Manzi is trying to get to the bottom of it.

“In essence you were blindsided just like everyone on the beach was,” Bob Ward said to Manzi

“Absolutely, we had the same kind of reaction (to the first alert), which was I hope it’s not correct, but we were blindsided yes,” Manzi said.

“So, it was a half an hour and you didn’t know if there was a radioactive leak or if this was just an error, that’s a lot of time,” Ward said.

“That’s too much time, and it’s unacceptable,” Manzi said.

Video shared with Boston 25 News captured audio of the announcement: “Attention. Attention. There is a problem at Seabrook Power Plant.”

There was no further information available.

Nuclear power station accidentally triggers emergency siren Courtesy Nick Ponte

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