Our View: Action is needed now on sirens

The map says it all.
In yesterday's Bay of Plenty Times, we reprinted a map showing how a major tsunami would devastate our coast.
It makes for a sobering read.
It shows how an "extreme" 6.75m tsunami would flood the entire coastal strip and the rest of the city's harbour margins - hitting 19,000 homes and forcing 35,000 people to flee for their lives.
An important point to note is that such a force of water would still be smaller than the one that hit Japan.
We first printed the map last August but decided to publish it again following the Japan disaster and as momentum gathers over the lack of tsunami sirens on our coast.
A number of city councillors are having a rethink over their appalling decision to abandon public sirens in favour of smaller home alarms - which most residents would have to buy.
The issue of tsunami sirens has dragged on for years in the Bay, since the devastating Boxing Day disaster of 2004. Successive efforts at establishing a proper, reliable public warning system have fallen over.
It is certainly a hot topic, with readers emailing this paper yesterday afternoon and last night - all wanting more detail about the tsunami threat or saying it is time the council acted on sirens.
So, will common sense prevail?
Councillors spoken to by this paper say sirens deserve another look, which is a start, albeit a feeble one.
The Papamoa and Mount Maunganui residents associations have quite wisely seized this opportunity to give the issue another push.
Papamoa Progressive Association, which is leading the charge, plans to making a submission to the city council's 2011-2012 annual plan. Submissions open on March 21.
Despite this apparent slight progress, it remains astonishing that the issue of tsunami sirens will somehow become caught up in red tape.
The annual plan process will undoubtedly drag this out and in the meantime thousands of Bay people's lives remain at risk because there is no efficient warning system.
Come on. Mayor Stuart Crosby and councillors need to act now. This is a no-brainer.
They need to put the petty bureaucracy that rules local government aside and act in a practical manner.
They need to ensure that audible sirens are placed along our coast and in coastal areas, giving local people the best possible chance at saving themselves should the unthinkable happen.
Sirens should lead the way with residents given the option of complementing these with other warning measures, such as text warnings and home alarms.
Given that New Zealand is an earthquake-prone country and that three big quakes have happened within six months something must be done now.
The Bay of Plenty Times will continue to report on this issue because we believe it is a major issue of public interest and safety.
Related story:
Council rethink: new push for tsunami sirens