Eighteen of the Big Island’s 71 emergency warning sirens tested on Monday did not sound, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira.
Eighteen of the Big Island’s 71 emergency warning sirens tested on Monday did not sound, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira.
The 18 sirens that did not blare were located primarily in the Hilo and Puna areas, according to the Civil Defense. Officials traced the problem to a radio transmission repeater site in the Kulani area. The site provides a radio signal communications link for the sirens.
The problem was corrected and preliminary tests confirmed the system functional and operational, according to the Civil Defense. The public will be notified in advance of any follow-up siren tests.
The sirens are just one facet of the island’s comprehensive emergency notification strategy, which includes sounding sirens, sending phone, text, and email alerts through mass notification systems, Civil Defense messages on radio and television stations, and manual notification by police, fire, and Civil Air Patrol personnel.
See West Hawaii Today’s Wednesday edition for full coverage.