Sirens blasted but council loud on the defensive

Hastings District Council is defending its decision to use mobile civil defence warning sirens instead of installing permanent sirens in coastal communities such as Haumoana, Te Awanga and Clifton.

Hastings man Xan Harding, in a letter to Hawke's Bay Today, said he believed there would not be a maximum of 20 minutes for council officers to deploy the mobile sirens in the event of a major tsunami heading towards coastal Hawke's Bay.

"Enough time to clear the sleep from their eyes perhaps, but not nearly enough time to stop drivers going out to certain death trundling around Haumoana, Te Awanga, Clifton, Whirinaki and Waimarama.

"Why is it that other coastal regions, Napier City Council, can have instantaneous permanent warning systems but not Hastings?"

The council said tone-only sirens were used in many areas to warn of emergencies but it was considered the mobile units would provide a "greater level of awareness" of an emergency in the coastal areas of Hastings district.

"One of the major advantages of the mobile units is that they are capable of broadcasting a voice message which is appropriate to the situation," the council's communications co-ordinator Ross Holden said.

"This is a major advantage over tone-only emergency sirens which don't have a message."

The council's mobile siren, which can be mounted on most vehicles, included a voice message which alerted residents to the type of emergency, whether it be flooding, fire, tsunami.

It could be "extremely helpful to visitors" who may not be aware of what the tone-only siren meant.

"Tone-only sirens can be confused with a fire or other type of alarm," Mr Holden said.

"Fixed sirens are largely dependent on electricity and power failure is our number five hazard, the mobile sirens are battery driven from a vehicle," he said.

Maintenance was also an issue as fixed sirens were prone to weather deterioration.

"The mobile sirens can also be deployed to the specific area where the emergency is occurring," Mr Holden said. "This will allow the voice message to play an important role in alerting residents to the particular emergency and the preferred course of action."

The mobile sirens were currently housed at the Haumoana Fire Station. "They will be distributed to other coastal communities in the coming weeks, once volunteers have been trained in their use," Mr Holden said.