A video shared on X and TikTok appears to show what seems like emergency sirens erupting across Laguna Beach, California. According to the video, residents began to panic at the sound, thinking a nuclear strike was taking place with no warning.
A man standing in his front yard in Laguna Beach captured the moment the area was overwhelmed with loud, city-wide emergency sirens.
“I think SoCal might be in some danger,” the man said in the video. “I'm at my house in Laguna Beach right now, and there's full-on emergency, like, bomb warnings going off.”
“Bro, I feel like we're in, like, a futuristic, like, movie, because you can't see speakers anywhere, and the whole city has this whole alarm system going off,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Bro, I feel like we're in, like, a futuristic, like, movie, because you can't see speakers anywhere, and the whole city has this whole alarm system going off,” he added.
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While continuous warning tones echoed across neighborhoods, residents were unable to identify a visible source for the sound.
“I genuinely thought we were getting nuked,” the man said.
The City of Laguna Beach said that it was a test of the Outdoor Warning System. However, Netizens aren’t ready to buy the explanation.
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“They want us to believe it was "just a test"? Sirens blaring out of nowhere across Laguna Beach, no visible speakers, pure panic—people thought nuclear strike incoming. Why rehearse doomsday vibes now? Something's coming. Stay alert, stock up. This wasn't random,” a user commented on the post. “I’ve never heard those alarms. I did not even know the city had them,” one user wrote, while another said, “So it was a test but they didn’t warn anyone about the test?”
What did the City of Laguna Beach say?
The City of Laguna Beach said in a March 21 X post, “The City of Laguna Beach will be conducting a public test of the Outdoor Warning System next Tuesday, March 24 at 4 p.m. The test will emit a loud siren and alert message on the 23 speakers/sirens throughout the city and should last approximately one minute.”
After the test, Laguna Beach Fire Department said on Instagram, “Today, the City of Laguna Beach tested our Outdoor Warning System, which is designed to alert residents and visitors in the event of an emergency. The City has 23 loudspeakers strategically placed throughout the community, and they are tested quarterly to ensure we remain prepared.”