TOP STORY: Who heard sirens?

Western Bay civil defence officials are confident people will be well aware of an approaching tsunami _ even though some living near the beach still can't hear the warning sirens.
Ten sirens spread along the coast from Waihi Beach to Pukehina went off simultaneously in a two-minute test at lunchtime on Saturday.
The wailing sound was heard further afield than during the shorter 10-15-second test on May 18.
Barry Low, Western Bay manager of emergency management, said he was "fairly happy" with Saturday's test.
"The main complaint the first time was that hardly anyone heard the sirens. This time we got reports that people heard them and the word will spread very quickly that the sirens are sounding.
"As long as we reach most people in the coastal areas I believe we are doing the best we can," said Mr Low.
"I was more worried that the switch-off signal wouldn't work but it did. And I'm happy that the system is functioning and all the activation controls worked the way they were supposed to," he said.
But some residents in Pukehina, Papamoa East, the busy Main Beach at Mount Maunganui, Te Puna and Katikati were still disappointed.
Lyall Pearce, who lives at western end of Pukehina Parade, said he never heard a thing.
"I was outside wondering when it was going off _ maybe it was something to do with the wind and we are below the ridge of the road.
"The fire station is two kilometres from us. My neighbours didn't hear the siren and I doubt whether anyone in Little Waihi did either," he said.
Isabel Forrester, who has a beachfront property in Karewa Parade, Papamoa East, had to go outside to hear a faint sound.
"You wouldn't know what it was; I only heard it briefly. I would be floating to South America before I knew it and my neighbours with me _ we need a siren down this end," said Mrs Forrester.
Colin Smith lives 30m above Snodgrass Rd in Te Puna and he had to go out on his verandah to hear any sound. "It won't wake me up at night _ you really had to strain to hear the siren," he said.
Jamie Postmaa experienced only the sound of silence in Beach Rd, Katikati.
"We usually hear the fire siren and the dog goes off her head; she didn't this time."
Standing on the boardwalk at Main Beach, Mount Maunganui _ one of the first spots where a tsunami wave could strike _ a low whining sound could be heard.
But across Marine Parade under the verandah of Oceanside Twin Towers people kept talking and sipping their coffee _ they didn't hear a thing.
Waiting on the boardwalk, Colin McGonagle said: "If that's as good as it gets, we are in trouble."
Lyall Garty said hundreds of people regularly visited the spot and it wasn't the sort of alert to make them run for shelter.
"Those who are sleeping or doing everyday things in the house with the TV and radio on would never hear it," she said.
Carmel McCarthy, sitting outside the cafe, said: "I really thought we were going to hear it; it's disappointing. They need to have more sirens, particularly along the beach strip."
Mr Low said the warning system was ``a work in progress and he would look at getting extra coverage for Papamoa East, Matua/Te Puna and the Mount beachfront where a siren could be placed at the surf club or on top of an apartment tower.
"We know we have some blank areas and we have other options _ such as fire engines and police cars cruising the streets with their sirens on and a helicopter mounted with an alarm system flying over."
Mr Low is also having a discussion with a company this week about introducing a subscriber service that sends warnings via mobile phones.
He said the sirens were the last step in a tsunami warning.
"The sirens are confirmation of what people have heard by other means and they will only be sounded when there is a genuine case."
Before that happened, the media would have been told about an approaching tsunami and the warnings would be broadcast on radio and television, he said.
"Look at what happened on May 4 _ the media picked up on a warning while we were asleep."
The Tauranga and Western Bay Emergency Management committee has spent $32,000 on the tsunami warning system, mainly on the control equipment.
The sirens are located at fire stations at Waihi Beach, Athenree, Katikati, Omokoroa, Papamoa, Te Puke, Maketu and Pukehina Beach and at Baypark Stadium and the Port of Tauranga container terminal on Sulphur Point.
Mr Low said the siren warning system would be tested every three months and "each time we will get valuable feedback and keep improving it. Hopefully, we can wind up with something that suits everyone."
Western Bay district Mayor Graeme Weld said the the next step was to analyse the results against factors like the prevailing wind in order to find out where the gaps were in the system.
Mr Weld said there were areas that were not well covered and places where the sirens were not heard at all. They would have to decide how those people would be warned.
He believed that in a real emergency when the sirens wailed for at least 10 minutes, something would alert people in the areas furthest from the alarms.