Christchurch City Council head of community support and partnerships John Filsell told chrislynchmedia.com the planned tsunami siren failed due to human error - not a fault with the technology.
Filsell said the issue was not with the sirens but with the process of testing them.
"The tsunami siren test failed due to human error, rather than a problem with the siren technology itself," Filsell told chrislynchmedia.com.
"Safeguards are being put in place to reduce the risk of this happening again in the future.
"There will be another test of the sirens scheduled in the next couple of weeks.
"We will be communicating this widely, once a date has been confirmed," Filsell said.
It comes after Waitai Coastal-Burwood-Linwood Community Board member Jo Zervos asked council staff for a report on what went wrong with the test.
“It's a big wake-up call, or as someone said to me - it wasn’t a wake-up call at all," Zervos said on Monday.
During a real tsunami threat, residents would receive an emergency mobile alert alongside the sirens.
The sirens help provide an early warning for distant-source tsunamis, which could take more than three hours to hit Christchurch’s coastline.
Siren tests are done twice a year at the start and end of daylight savings to check the system is functioning.
During a test, residents hear a tone and the message: “This is a test of the tsunami warning sirens. Do not be alarmed. This is only a test.”
