Seabrook Nuclear Power Station inadvertently sounds emergency beach evacuation alarm

SEABROOK, N.H. – An inadvertent alarm from the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station caused brief confusion and an evacuation message in several New Hampshire beach communities Tuesday morning.

Beachgoers in Hampton and Rye reported hearing a message about an emergency at the power plant just after 11 a.m.

Paul Driscoll said he was in front of his cottage packing the cooler when he heard it.

“At first, we’re like, what’s going on here?” Driscoll said. “And the next thing you know an announcement came over a loudspeaker, saying you need to evacuate, there’s been an incident at the power plant.”

Driscoll said 15 of his family members were already on the beach.

“When I walked up here, they had no clue,” Driscoll said. “No one on the beach knew anything about it.”

Several area police departments confirmed within minutes that the alarm was accidental.

“We have confirmed an inadvertent alert of the Seabrook Emergency Alarms, There is NO Emergency,” the Rockingham County Sheriff’s office posted.

“There have been reports of an emergency at the power plant with messages to evacuate the beach. These messages are not accurate and there is no threat to the public,” Hampton Police posted.

Kirsten Straccamoro said the alarm has never gone off in the three years she’s lived in her condo. “We couldn’t get any news about it for a few minutes and we were all just panicking,” Straccamoro said.

She said it was about 20 minutes before she and her neighbors found out it was a false alarm. 

No evacuations were made during the alarm.

A spokesperson for NextEra, the owner of the plant, said the sirens’ activation was sent in error during testing of the system. “Seabrook Station is currently operating with no issues that impact the nearby community,” said spokesperson Bill Orlove. “We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused.”