HILO — The state is adding 17 new Big Island sirens to its system of emergency alerts as it works to fill gaps in a program designed to bolster public preparedness in natural and man-made emergencies.
The County Council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to allow access on county property for the state Emergency Management Agency to install and maintain sirens. Ten of the new sirens are on county property.
There’s been an increase in public interest in the sirens since the state on Dec. 1 tested a new alert siren that will sound in the event of nuclear attack. A different siren tone, for natural disasters, has been tested monthly and activated in emergencies for decades.
County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said the new sirens are unrelated to the nuclear scare.
“This was decided long before the attack siren was implemented or even thought about,” Magno said.
State Emergency Management spokesman Richard Rapoza said the “very, very, very unlikely scenario” of a nuclear attack has to be prepared for, along with the “100 percent chance” the state will see another tsunami or hurricane.
“We have to prepare for it because it exists,” Rapoza said. “But it doesn’t drive our plan.”
The state is beefing up the system on Hawaii Island from its current 84 locations to 112, Magno told the council. Most sirens are currently near the coast, where hurricanes and tsunamis pose the greatest threat.
Sirens will be installed at East Carvalho Park, Panaewa Park, Ahualani Park, Keokea Park, Kamehameha Park, Kahaluu Beach Park, Palipoko Road, Hookena Beach Park, Whittington Beach Park, Hawaiian Ocean View, Waiohinu, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Mountain View, Keaau Shipman Park, Ainaloa and Captain Cook, according to a memorandum of agreement between the county and the state.
Each siren is expected to cost the state about $100,000.
Rapoza said the modernization project includes repairing malfunctioning sirens, upgrading older ones to digital systems and adding new ones.
When done, the 384 sirens statewide will increase to 495, said Vern Miyagi, Emergency Management Agency administrator.
The wailing siren, which Hawaii hadn’t heard since the end of the Cold War, sounded for about a minute last week, following a routine test of a siren used to alert people about natural disasters such as a tsunami.
This month’s test generated more complaints than the usual test of the natural disaster siren, partly because of all the media attention leading up it.
“Everybody was listening for it this time,” Miyagi said. “Prior to this I would be lying to you if I said everybody stood at their homes … and listened acutely for the monthly tones.”
The agency is gathering reports from Hawaii’s counties, along with information from volunteers who listened, Miyagi said.
People in Waikiki and other parts of the state reported difficulty hearing the siren.
One of those was Janet Booth, who said she was having a late breakfast with her husband at Bongo Ben’s Island Cafe on Alii Drive and didn’t hear the siren.
“We had planned to purchase MRE meals, water and other supplies to shelter in place for 14 days; however it now seems a wasted effort since chances are we will not hear a warning,” Booth said in a Wednesday letter to the editor. “No one I’ve spoken to thus far seems to care about the fact we need to be able to hear the siren to save our lives.”
Rapoza said three Big Island sirens the state thought were working failed to go off during the test, and five others that the state knew weren’t working also didn’t sound an alarm. He couldn’t specify locations by press time Wednesday.
Specifics about sirens that malfunctioned or were hard to hear will be available when the agency completes its report, which Miyagi expects around mid-month.
The purpose of the monthly test is to ensure sirens are working properly. People who don’t hear a nearby siren on the Big Island should report it to Hawaii County Civil Defense by calling 935-0031.
Miyagi stressed that the siren is only one part of the emergency notification system. In an emergency that would require sounding the siren, there would also be alerts on smartphones and messages broadcast on TV and radio, he said.
Individuals can also add another layer of notification by signing up for text or email alerts at https://countyofhawaii.bbcportal.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.