Disaster plans show a shortage of sirens

148 areas lack the means to issue disaster warnings, says Hawaii Civil Defense

Schools, parks, harbors, shopping centers and beaches are among more than 100 places in Hawaii where additional emergency sirens are needed to properly warn residents and visitors about natural disasters such as tsunamis, according to state disaster plans.

In all, 148 extra sirens are required to cover "gap areas" in the four counties, including places like Sunset Beach and Velzyland on Oahu, Kihei Commercial Center on Maui, Wailua Golf Course on Kauai and the Big Island's Wainaku Lookout, a list prepared by the state Civil Defense agency shows.

SIREN WEAK POINTS Here is a list of communities statewide where more emergency sirens are needed. Numbers in parentheses indicate how many additional sirens are required in one area: OAHU Palolo Valley Waianae Valley Thompson Corner 41-350 Kalanianaole Highway Kainoa Beach Park Waikane Punaluu Hauula Sunset/Velzyland Mililani Recreational Center 2 Mililani Mauka Aikahi Park Kahuku (2) Lualualei Homesteads Yacht Club Knolls/Terrace City of Kapolei Waimanalo Town Halawa District Park Enchanted Lake Elementary School Kaena Point State Park (2) Pearl City Ewa Gentry Intersection of H-3 and Kamehameha Highway Kalihi Valley Newtown Kamiloiki Valley Makakilo Mauka Waihee Valley Kalama Valley Kalama Beach Park Haiku Valley/Windward Community College Papakolea/Tantalus Kapiolani Park Kawailoa Camp Upper Nanakuli Iholena Place Halawa Valley Ahuimanu Waipahu Waialae Nui Waialae Iki Hawaii Loa Ridge Maunawili Valley Keehi Lagoon Park Kawaikui Beach Park KAUAI Princeville and Kuhio Highway Aliomanu and Papaa Road Kuhio Highway and Kumukumu Beach Waipoli Beach County Park Wailua Golf Course Hanamaulu Beach Park Kawainaa Road water tank Lawai Knolls Kukuiolono Kalaheo No. 4 MAUI COUNTY Maui Meadows, Kihei Maui Waena Intermediate School, Kahului Puunene Avenue and Kuihelani Highway Kahului Beach Road End of South Lono Avenue Kihei Commercial Center Lokelani Intermediate School, Kihei Kihei (2) Piilani Highway and Kanani Road, Kihei Omaopio Road, Kula Kekaulike Highway, Kula Maukanani Road, Kula Haliimaile Baldwin Park Hookipa Pauwela Hana Kaeleku and Hana Highway Mokuhau Park War Memorial Stadium, Wailuku Puuohala Park Napili, West Maui Lahaina (3) Kualapuu Park, Molokai Puu Haulo Park, Molokai Papohaku Beach Park, Molokai One Alii I Park, Molokai Kaluakoi, Molokai (2) Kalae Picnic Area, Molokai Kaumalapau Harbor, Lanai Keomoku Highway and Koele Park, Lanai Manele, Lanai BIG ISLAND Hookena, South Kona Shipman Industrial Keaau South Hilo Pepeekeo, South Hilo Honohina, South Hilo Kurtistown Ballpark, Puna Prince Kuhio, South Hilo Volcano Village, Puna Waiakea Uka Gym, South Hilo Ahualoa, Hamakua Lapakahi State Park, North Kohala Honaunau Mauka, South Kohala Hoopuloa near Milolii Panaewa Farm Lots, South Hilo Wainaku Lookout, South Hilo Kalanihohua Tract Waikoloa Community Park Kikaua Point Park Kaumana Drive and Saddle Road Old Coast Guard Road Kapaa Park Mahukona Park Fern Forest Vacation Estates Kalapana Vacation Lots Kaimu Makena Homesteads Black Sand Beach Subdivision Lealani Estates 2 Aloha Estates Eden Rock Estates Crescent Acres Kapoho Vacationland Nanawale Subdivision Nanawale Farm Ranch Hawaiian Paradise Park Hawaiian Shores Subdivision Keeau MacNut Road Keeau School Pahoa Agricultural Park Orchid Land Estates Orchid Isle Estates Keeau Heights Pacific Paradise Gardens Hawaiian Islands Paradise Acres Pacific Paradise Development Subdivision Pacific Paradise Mountain View Manor Olaa Summer Lots Volcano Cymbidium Acres Hawaiian Ocean View Estates 3 and 4 Kula Kai View Estates Discovery Harbor Source: State Civil Defense Agency

The agency disclosed its siren list in response to a public records request made by the Star-Bulletin following the Oct. 15 earthquakes off the Kona Coast.

Some communities, like Kahuku on Oahu, and Kihei and Lahaina on Maui, need more than one siren each, according to the document.

The list calls for 47 more sirens on Oahu, 38 on Maui, 52 on the Big Island and 11 on Kauai.

Several factors have led to the shortage of sirens, which were first instituted after a 1946 tsunami caused widespread destruction in Hawaii, killing 159 people in Hilo and Laupahoehoe on the Big Island.

For one, officials said the state has not been able to keep up with housing developments, which explains why sirens are needed in the emerging City of Kapolei and in Ewa Gentry on Oahu, as well as at Hawaiian Ocean View Estates and several other communities in Hawaii County.

Also, in recent years, only about $1 million has been appropriated annually for new sirens, but that ends up cut in half as $500,000 is spent every year to maintain the network, state Civil Defense officials said in October.

Though the siren budget was pushed up to $4 million in the last supplemental version -- and officials are now hoping to get a steady $2.5 million a year -- it will still take at least 17 years to complete all the work, said George Burnett, telecommunications officer at Hawaii State Civil Defense.

Finally, the sirens, which have high-tech speakers and cost as much as $75,000 each, are sometimes vandalized, said Ray Lovell, a spokesman with the agency.

The state's emergency plans came under scrutiny following the 6.7- and 6.0-magnitude earthquakes that struck off the west coast of the Big Island. The temblors led to power outages in three counties that exposed some flaws in the state's ability to disseminate information to the public.

Among them were 100 existing mechanical sirens that officials acknowledged rely entirely on electricity and would not have sounded if the quakes had been stronger and generated a tsunami.

Those sirens need to be replaced with new ones that have solar-powered batteries.

The sirens are triggered automatically if an earthquake is large enough to generate a tsunami. The strength of the Oct. 15 quakes were just below the magnitude-6.9 threshold. Following a siren blast, people are supposed to turn on their radios or TVs for updates. Information on how to respond to the sirens can be found in telephone books.

Oahu Civil Defense spokesman John Cummings summarized the siren problem as "a money issue."

"It's kind of a daunting situation because all the counties need to replace their older mechanical sirens," he said in October, "and in addition, we want to add more sirens to areas that aren't covered. We need to increase our siren footprint."

One year ago, in her inaugural 2006 State of the State speech, Gov. Linda Lingle announced a preparedness package that called for "modernizing our warning systems, stockpiling supplies" and "doubling the funds available to respond in the first hours after an emergency."

Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, the director of state Civil Defense, said funds released in the last legislative session were enough to accelerate installation and retrofitting of sirens. But he acknowledged that more money is needed to end the siren shortage.

"We thought that we were pretty well along that plan that we could have coverage should an emergency occur," he said. "I think we are taking the appropriate measures to (offer) better coverage on some of the areas where developments have sprung up."

Lee said the state could benefit from federal funding after recently spending a few days with Jay Cohen, undersecretary of homeland security for science and technology, with whom he discussed Hawaii's plans to improve warnings and evacuation plans.

"He was very excited and interested in it, and would like Hawaii to be a test case for the (U.S.) Department of Homeland Security," Lee said. "We kind of got some homeland security endorsement on this."

The importance of adding sirens is among a number of recommendations prepared by the Science Advisory Working Group, which spent months studying communication glitches experienced during the earthquake, as well as the public's response to it.

The scientists will present a report to county and state Civil Defense officials by month's end, said Dan Walker, a tsunami adviser to the agency who's chairing the group. Though he said fixing the siren system is necessary, Walker said public education should top the agenda.

"One item that is glaring is the lack of education. This is the overriding issue," he said. "You can have all the bells and whistles in the world, but if the citizenry, the news media and the visitor industry don't understand what a tsunami is and what they should do in the event of a tsunami ... if they don't know that, we are in deep trouble."

Burnett, the state Civil Defense telecommunications officer, said that while it is important to set up more sirens and streamline communication channels, the public should always be prepared for a worst-case scenario.

"You got to have a battery-powered radio in your emergency kit," he said. "We are all in this together."