Tsunami alert tests city's readiness

Holidaymakers in Mount Maunganui ran up Mauao with lifejackets and sleeping bags when they got news that a tsunami was approaching.
Once on higher ground they called authorities, asking what to do next.
That was just one of the responses from coastal Bay of Plenty dwellers after yesterday's tsunami alert.
Tauranga and Western Bay Emergency Management operations manager, Alan Pearce, said it was good to see so many people taking the threat seriously.
It was the first real test for the Tauranga and Western Bay tsunami warning system and evacuation plan.
While Mr Pearce was reasonably pleased with how the system worked, it did come in for criticism from many.
Those who signed up for a SMS text alert system were surprised they did not get a message.
Mr Pearce said authorities decided not to send a SMS message once they assessed the threat as not too serious. He also said they would probably struggle getting messages out given the amount of text traffic being sent at the time.
But Papamoa East man James Smith said that seemed like a poor excuse and that the text system was a flop.
"It seems completely ludicrous they didn't choose to text people," Mr Smith said.
"People on or near the beach may have been totally unaware of the potential danger they were in and may have missed the aerial announcement.
"Someone should be asking hard questions. What's the point of having the technology in place and not using it?"
The TrustPower TECT rescue helicopter was also sent up to travel the coast from Waihi Beach to Otamarakau telling people of the tsunami alert.
Mr Pearce said the message was that a tsunami warning was in effect and people should turn on their radio for further information.
He said while they had received some complaints from people who said they could not hear the message they also heard from many who said they heard it loud an clear.
"Obviously not everyone will hear it ... it will depend where you are."
Joan Hill, who is holidaying with family in Papamoa, said she struggled to hear the message just one road back from the beach.
"It was all a bit muffled."
There was also concern from a number of residents that they did not hear the tsunami warning sirens that are located at strategic locations along the coast. This is because they were not set off.
Mr Pearce said Civil Defence decided these were not necessary given the magnitude of threat.
"You have to also remember that there are the warning of last resort ... if they are turned on they will be turned on and left on until the tsunami arrives."
He said sirens tended to cause unnecessary panic, something they wanted to avoid.
The sirens that did go off along the coast were from volunteer fire brigades calling in their firefighters.
"They did a sterling job clearing people off the beach."
Mr Pearce said the traffic management plan was not invoked as it was not deemed necessary.
The emergency management team and associated agencies will have a debrief soon to discuss the event.