Tsunami sirens
Groundswell of community support for petition to not switch off sirens and rely solely on cellphone alerts
Give us our sirens — loud and clear, this was the message from the Coromandel’s east coast community at meetings to explain why tsunami sirens are being disconnected in September.
Civil Defence Controller Garry Towler and Fire and Emergency NZ managers presented their alternative alerting methods to Whitianga residents on Monday and Tairua, Pauanui and Whangamata on Tuesday.
Those petitioning for sirens to be upgraded and not switched off have gathered more than 2000 signatures.
They are critical of what they see as the lack of communication and believe the council is putting too much reliance on mobile technology.
“They got it loud and clear that they want the community to be listened to,” says Linda Cholmondleysmith who started the petition.
She said the community forums demonstrated that Civil Defence has abandoned the mechanical sirens and was attempting to re-educate the public on a decision it had already made.
“It seems the most practical thing is a combination of sirens and technology. But technology fails. If we have a major [earthquake] the first thing that happens is the power goes out, there goes all your alerts by mobile phone.”
Cholmondley-smith has formally asked TCDC to withdraw its advertising of “official” tsunami warning methods that omitted the icon for sirens.
She said the exclusion of the siren and PA system symbols is a subtle way of suggesting these are no longer advocated nationally.
“Sirens are a way of public emergency alerting, which is supported by government,” she said.
Mayor Sandra Goudie said siren replacements came at a cost and she urged people to submit to the draft 10-year plan if they wished to see money spent this way.
The community’s opportunity to give feedback on TCDC’S draft Long
Term Plan has closed, a day before the scheduled forums in Tairua, Pauanui and Whangamata.
However, Mr Towler said the council may open up another round of community consultation on civil defence spending.
“The decision was made because we were given a choice — comply or disconnect. The council decided to disconnect. They made the decision, they didn’t see that consultation was going to change that,” he said.
Several ratepayers groups submitted on the point of tsunami sirens, and could represent their communities when they spoke at hearings.
TCDC has nine tsunami sirens, and had tsunami alerting devices on another 18 owned by Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
The council’s estimate for upgrading to meet national compliance on sirens is between $5 million and $9 million, for 45 sirens around the district.
Instead some $200,000 is tagged in the draft 10-year plan for a public education campaign and signage at beaches and highways telling people how to get notified of an emergency.
Mr Towler said the disconnection of tsunami sirens was not part of the Long Term Plan, therefore the timing of the forums was always planned to follow the March 4 Emergency Management Committee meeting where the disconnection process was confirmed.
“If council were to decide to install new sirens that were compliant with national standards, that could be done through the Annual Plan for 2022-23.”
TCDC is advocating emergency mobile alerts, messages to mobile phones when an emergency seriously threatens life, health or property.
However the aged population of Thames-coromandel is a consistent theme among residents’ concerns.
Vickee Collins stood up at the Tairua meeting to say her elderly parents don’t own a mobile phone and do not want one.
“My concern is there’s only going to be one alert system, through the phone, once we lose our sirens.
“They don’t have a cellphone and are not intending to get one.”
A recent tsunami siren that sounded in the middle of the night had been effective in getting her elderly parents out of bed and to higher ground.
“They heard the siren alert and