10-31-2012, 05:50 PM
My point was simply that there is more than one way to skin a cat, which will come as bad news to the cat. The sirens didn't work as intended. Despite that, most were aware of the emergency. It is true that not everyone is as connected to this technology, thank heavens, but my point remains: they are now of secondary or tertiary importance. I never suggested that we shouldn't push for them, especially and most ironically in the areas directly affected, but I seriously doubt that most people on Kaloli Point would have first learned of the earthquake and resulting mini-tsunami through a siren placed on Da Point. All of my immediate neighbors seemed quite aware of the earthquake, and not because they heard a siren. And many sirens NOT on Da Point were not working. I am all for the placement of as many sirens in as many places as the island can afford, but these are becoming of less importance as time goes on.
The fact remains that when a tsunami warning issues the police come through, a helicopter flies by, blinking like the spaceship in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Da Point gets special attention from Hawaii County Civil Defense. A siren, while desirable and audible from the interior of my home, was the last thing to tell me I needed to pack up. I knew that at about 7:30 or so, via my smartphone. I did not hear the siren until much later. Let's maintain and augment the sirens, if we can, but let's accept reality: Most people learned of the tsunami-ette through other means.
The fact remains that when a tsunami warning issues the police come through, a helicopter flies by, blinking like the spaceship in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Da Point gets special attention from Hawaii County Civil Defense. A siren, while desirable and audible from the interior of my home, was the last thing to tell me I needed to pack up. I knew that at about 7:30 or so, via my smartphone. I did not hear the siren until much later. Let's maintain and augment the sirens, if we can, but let's accept reality: Most people learned of the tsunami-ette through other means.