Second False Alert Shakes Confidence in Coastal Warning System

A malfunction in the coastal early-warning system sent an incorrect tsunami alert to residents of Bahía Fuerte and Punta Negra on Friday afternoon, triggering evacuation procedures and traffic congestion that lasted nearly two hours. The alert was issued at 14:33 local time, suggesting a magnitude 6.8 seismic event forty kilometers offshore. The Federal Hydro Authority, which oversees the integrated alert network, issued an all-clear at 14:58 after determining that no seismic event had occurred.

The incident marks the second significant failure of the system in three months. In August, a faulty sensor reading triggered a similar false alert that prompted port operations to halt and several hotels to evacuate guests. Both failures have renewed questions about the reliability of a warning infrastructure that residents depend on in a region where tropical storms and occasional seismic activity are routine hazards.

"The system's credibility is its most valuable asset," said Dr. Fernando Vega, the director of the Federal Hydro Authority's Regional Coastal Monitoring Office, in a statement released on Saturday. "When that asset is compromised, even briefly, the public's trust erodes. We take full responsibility for the failure and are implementing additional safeguards to prevent recurrence."