No, a tsunami is not headed for Brisbane

The Bureau of Meteorology triggered confusion and mild panic on Wednesday morning when it briefly issued a tsunami warning for Brisbane and other capital cities after an 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck near New Zealand.

But the warning was a test, and there was no earthquake.

The bureau issued a message on its app at 11.32am warning of a potential tsunami threat to Queensland, NSW, Tasmania and Victoria.

The Bureau of Meteorology tested its new tsunami early warning system software on Wednesday, causing mild panic.

Some users of the bureau’s app as far inland as Canberra and the Blue Mountains also received the warning.

After clicking on the initial alert, users were taken to a tsunami warning page which highlighted Brisbane and coastal areas – including the Gold Coast and south to Point Danger on the New South Wales/Queensland border – as affected areas.

However, scattered through the alert was the word “TEST”.

“TEST Marine Threat Tsunami Warning is current for Queensland,” the alert read.

The Bureau of Meteorology tested its new tsunami early warning system software on Wednesday, causing mild panic.

People in the marine threat areas were advised to get out of the water and move away from the water’s edge.

A short time later, the BOM issued a “cancelled tsunami warning” message.

A bureau spokeswoman confirmed there was no tsunami threat to Australia.

“The Bureau of Meteorology issued test verification posts on social media platform X (Twitter) and the BOM Weather app between 11am-12pm AEST ... as part of the transition to the new tsunami early warning system software,” she said.

The bureau later clarified again that there was no imminent tsunami, with an added apology.

“There is NO tsunami threat to Australia,” a spokeswoman said in a statement sent to media.

“The bureau acknowledges and apologises for any confusion that this test may have caused.”

The spokeswoman said the test warnings were sent to the BOM Weather app for various locations.

“The test warnings were cancelled immediately after they were issued,” she said.

“Testing is important to help the bureau and partners prepare and plan for real tsunami threats.”

It has been two years since a $220,000 failed rebranding attempt in the midst of major floods was catastrophic to the bureau’s reputation.

It coincided with a period when the accuracy of the bureau’s severe weather and flood predictions was at one of its lowest levels.

A bureau spokesman said that “like any large organisation, there are times when we don’t get it right”.

Behind the scenes, it served to compound the fury of some staff members who believed that poor management was damaging the institution.

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