Police are advising residents not to call 911 as Durham Region conducts an annual daytime test of its nuclear public alerting system over the next two days.
The alert system is in place to warn people in the unlikely event of an emergency at the two nuclear-generating stations in Clarington and Pickering.
Residents who have a landline phone number within 10 kilometres of the stations will get an automated call on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The calls will appear as coming from 905-666-6291.
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, outdoor sirens will sound for up to one minute within three kilometres of the two stations.
In a real emergency, that siren would be a signal for people to go indoors and wait for further instructions from government channels and tune into local media outlets.
Click here to enter your address to find out how you will be alerted.
The test will take place during daytime hours.
“This is only a test, and no action is required if you receive a phone call on October 29 or hear the sirens on October 30,” officials stated in a release.
“Durham Region is required to test the Nuclear Public Alerting System as part of its responsibilities as directed by the Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan (PNERP).”
Click here for more information on nuclear preparedness or call 1-800-372-1102.