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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Sirens blare in error
in Aiea and MililaniQuestion: On Wednesday the emergency broadcast sirens went off in Aiea. I called the mayor's complaint office, but they didn't seem concerned. I turned on the TV and radio, and there was nothing about it. Later, we found out it was an accident. Is there any way to let people know when the system isn't working or there isn't any cause for alarm?
Answer: The best way is to turn on your TV or radio.
When there is an emergency, the sirens are meant to alert people to turn on their television sets or radio to immediately get information.
In the event of an accidental warning, "The best thing is that if people turn on the radio and TV, and there is no emergency instructions, the chances are there is nothing wrong," said Ray Lovell, spokesman for the state Civil Defense Agency.
If you are still worried at that point, you can follow up by calling either the Hawaii State Civil Defense Agency (733-4300) or the Oahu Civil Defense Agency (523-4121).
It turns out about 100 people called both agencies Wednesday after sirens in Aiea and Mililani blared for about three minutes just before 10 a.m.
State Civil Defense technicians, during a routine test, sent a signal meant for a siren in Campbell Industrial Park, but it accidentally triggered the other sirens.
"Even though it wasn't their fault," Oahu Civil Defense helped out by making calls to TV and radio stations, letting them know there was no emergency, Lovell said.
Oahu Civil Defense fielded calls for about an hour and a half after the accidental sounding, said administrator Doug Aton.
Soon after the first calls came in, staff called TV and radio stations to let them know there was no need for any alarm, he said, adding that it was good that people are "conditioned" to call Civil Defense to get information.
Lovell said that state officials are still trying to figure out the best way to alert people to an accidental sounding of an emergency siren, and to keep accidental triggerings to a minimum.
"We don't want to disrupt people's lives or scare them," he said, or, just as bad, make them think of "the boy who cried wolf" and not react at all.
In the meantime, "one of a number of things" state officials are looking at is how to make the public more aware of what the sirens do mean, Lovell said.
"We test them the first working day of every month at 11:45 (a.m.), and people kind of get used to that and we don't want them to get used to that," he said.
Mahalo
To the two gentlemen in a white pickup truck who pulled over on the H-1 freeway (Ewa-bound) on Saturday, June 26, after my car had stalled in the left lane. There was not enough shoulder for me to be out of the flow of traffic. They bravely stopped traffic and pushed my car across four lanes so I'd be safer in the right shoulder until the police came. They probably saved me from being in a serious accident. Since I'm five months pregnant, I am especially thankful that they stopped for me. I hope they are reading this, and thank them again for being such good Samaritans. -- Stacy Keiser
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