Calls for proper warning system

Yesterday's 7.5 magnitude earthquake left a wake of damage. Photos: NZ Defence Force.

An online petition launched after yesterday morning's deadly earthquake has been signed by more than 3000 people.

The Papamoa and Mount Maunganui need tsunami sirens petition has been signed by 3152 people – it needs 5000 before it can be taken to Tauranga City Council.

At 12.02am, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake rocked the Kaikoura area and send shock waves throughout the entire country.

So far, two people have been confirmed dead and many homes and properties have been damaged.

The earthquake generated a tsunami warning throughout the East Coast of New Zealand including Papamoa & Mount Maungnui, Tauranga.

'At 2.05am, a Civil Defense text message was sent to those who had signed up for alerts warning us to evacuate and move to higher ground,” says Tauranga woman Renee Ball, who launched the online petition.

'Now being 2am most people have their cellphones off, on silent and do not check them leaving them unknowingly in danger of a tsunami heading their way.

'Thankfully the threat was lifted and we in Papamoa and Mount Maunganui are safe however many have now woken in the morning with the horrifying reality that they wouldn't of known what was happening until it was too late.”

Renee believed there were sirens in place in Papamoa East and the fire station on Parton Road would sound their siren in the case of a tsunami threat.

But she was wrong.

'Our communities needs a loud and effective wake up call to alert us of the threats of a possibly tsunami heading our way.

'We live in an area where we extremely exposed to beaches and flat land but thankfully not far behind is hills which we could easily reach if we were alerted, prepared and quick to react to warnings but we need proper warnings.”

People are being encouraged to sign the online petition in the hopes of getting sirens installed in the area.

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41 comments

Hmmm

Posted on 15-11-2016 08:48 | By philiphallen

What part of install loud and effective sirens that the whole community can hear? doesnt the council understand? Again I repeat that my mobile phone isnt too partial to sea water or sand, so I wont be able to receive any urgent news on the beach. The URGENT message which usually arrives a number of hours late if the latest test is to go by. So now that Crosby has gone maybe the new mayor will actually listen to his community that has elected him? Not holding my breath


an interesting scenario

Posted on 15-11-2016 09:57 | By Darth Vader NZ

A couple of hundred people evacuated after the civil defence tsunami threat, traffic was minimal along Tara road and Domain road due to the time of night. All but one vehicle turned left toward Te Puke after traveling under the underpass of the round a bout, all vehicles turned off at the Welcome Bay road intersection. A worse case scenario with such a quake here in the Bay and the underpass is only partially damaged and vehicles are unable to get through the underpass there is NO WAY for any vehicle including Fire, Police, ambulance to cross over the high way to travel toward Welcome Bay road due to the wire rope centre divide that runs the entire length of the highway. It would be only pedestrian access to get further inland due to the wire ropes, that spot would then be a massive bottleneck of vehicles and people


Living at the beach

Posted on 15-11-2016 11:26 | By Kenworthlogger

If you are afraid of tsunami then dont live at the beach.... Simple really.


how

Posted on 15-11-2016 12:08 | By gingerpussy

if there is a warning, everybody gets in their cars and panics, the roads will be blocked and its a long way to go to safety...sirens arent going to help you, yes they will warn people but its the escape route that needs to be fixed.....


Rely on council to save your life?

Posted on 15-11-2016 12:51 | By The Tomahawk Kid

Who in their right mind would would put their faith in local council being responsible for their lives?Why is it a council issue anyway? Council do not have the monopoly in ensuring the safety of people living on the coast - That would be - I don't know - the people living on the coasts priority!Tsunami sirens are needed, but preferably not supplied by local council. Council are doing nothing about the situation (we'll all be dead by the time they got round to it) and they make it too difficult for anybody else to provide them. Blame Nick Smith and the RMA for that.Imagine if some enterprising, community minded individual installed a Tsunami siren on his property without council permission - He'd be in court in an instant. A community-based civil defence group (with sirens) would be more efficient and cheaper.


sirens

Posted on 15-11-2016 13:02 | By terminator

The only option is to use the mechanical sirens used by volunteer fire brigades (that are apparently to loud to be safe to test etc...) this issue has been gone over before thoroughly. a few of these in strategic locations down the coast would be sufficient and not totally reliant on power supply either. vey low maintenance. compared to alternatives. Should be done no doubt. We could be looking at a mega-thrust earthquake here any second. Look at geo net history.


escape

Posted on 15-11-2016 13:13 | By terminator

If you are really worried about escaping a tsunami you should buy and learn to ride a trail bike. One for every 2 people in your house. Road or no road you will be able to evacuate yourself.


Totally agree Tomahawk Kid

Posted on 15-11-2016 14:57 | By Kenworthlogger

Its a Kiwi thing to live at the beach then have the audacity to blame everyone else because you feel unsafe in the location you chose. Unbelievable....,,


Tsunami sirens

Posted on 15-11-2016 15:44 | By maddog

Can some please go down to Redcliffs in Christchurch as they have a Tsunami sirens installed it was on the news footage. If you want anything done in Tauranga you have to get past two groups Tauranga City Council and Grey power


here we go again

Posted on 15-11-2016 17:44 | By old trucker

GOLLY GOSH these photos, it will take months to clear all of this,as one old timer said to me this morning, get a big dozer in there and push it all into the sea and straighten road out, and bench it this would help, IF another one does not hit,and then they could strenghthen edges,PAPAMOA is OK but to get out will be a disaster,2yrs back they tried SIRENS it did not work, what they could do is put all the do gooders in a big wheel( CAGE) and run on it hooked up to a siren,STARTING WITH MAYOR and CRONNIES,OH NO will have to get planning first, it will be to late from now on,CON(sultants) with FLOURO jackets and CLIPBOARDS)will have to check first,hangon, its nearly CHRISTMAS,we will do it in FEBUARY,that will do,my 10 bobs worth Thankyou No1 in the Bay,10-4 out.


Rabbits Bro

Posted on 15-11-2016 18:10 | By Rabbit's Bro

Gosh, I cannot believe all the miserly cynical people who are trying to discourage people from living where they choose. It is clear we need effective Tsunami sirens, in Papamoa ,the Mount, and Tauranga. In fact all low lying Coastal areas. There should be no argument and no delays. These have been installed in other Centres and they work. Certainly much better than the Civil Defence Emergency Texts which I signed up for but I too have my phone turned off at night. The Council should not be let loose with the responsibility of installing and operating Sirens. It should be the Civil Defence, with regular testing. End Of`


Spot-on, terminator

Posted on 15-11-2016 18:12 | By Papamoaner

Great idea! Trail bikes are relatively cheap and could be part of every families emergency kit. I often see whole families on a single trail bike in Thailand. Very practical.An objective suggestion, unlike that subjective smart alec Kentworthlogger who never has anything positive to say.


@madddog

Posted on 15-11-2016 18:42 | By Papamoaner

Yes, but the trouble with those Christchurch/Redcliffs sirens is that they are not heard clearly from a long distance according to people who live there. Unlike the Papamoa test of enhanced air raid sirens that were heard everywhere.


Papermoaner

Posted on 15-11-2016 22:36 | By Kenworthlogger

You certainly chose the correct log in name for yourslf. Next you will be moaning that the council has to provide you with a dirt bike. Think positive and live with the risks you choose to take. Dont whine when others tell you they are not responsible for the poor choices you make in life.


Don't blame the War ...

Posted on 16-11-2016 08:54 | By chancer

... but what's wrong with installing air raid sirens, aka WWII in Britain, a well tested & effective system. They could be attached to every 2nd/3rd/10th (whatever) power pole so the source of energy is already on tap. How long now we've been discussing this but the clipboards & fluoros & greenies juggernaut all have to put their penneth worth in to the mix so no decisions are made. No use relying on mobile phones, they are either turned of and many people still don't have 'smart phones' !! Come on Greg & Team - get practical it can't be that hard.


easy solution -

Posted on 16-11-2016 08:58 | By ow

Simple - leave your phone on and beside you if you are worriedDont rely on the councilHave some personal responsibility !


@ Chancer

Posted on 16-11-2016 09:36 | By Papamoaner

True, but if that earlier air raid siren test is anything to go by, you would only need 4 or 5 of them to cover the whole area. That also means you would only need 4 or 5 backup power supplies.


Totally agree ow

Posted on 16-11-2016 10:14 | By Kenworthlogger

People live at the beach choose to take the risk that a tsunami could come at any moment. DONT BLAME THE COUNCIL. If you dont want to be at risk then move to higher ground. Dont MOAN. Simple!!!!


Council department of lifesavers - ha ha

Posted on 16-11-2016 10:22 | By The Tomahawk Kid

I do not discourage people from living near the beach - you should be quite free to make your own choice of where you live. HOWEVER that choice does not (or should not) extend to forcing other people to pay for their safety precautions! - That should be their responsibility and that of other likeminded people (it used to be called community spirit!) It seems these days what that means is ganging up and forcing other people to pay for things they want, instead of getting out there and making it work amongst yourselves. It is the generation of entitlement. A council big enough to give you everything you demand, is also big enough to take away everything you have. Its time to wean yourselves off the council breast. The more you demand from them, the more they will oblige - and charge in higher rates.


The Tomahawk Kid

Posted on 16-11-2016 10:32 | By Kenworthlogger

You are so spot on! Well said mate, totally agree.


Piousness not helpful

Posted on 16-11-2016 12:16 | By Papamoaner

We should not be pious towards each other. That helps nobody. People who have lived at Papamoa all their lives can't be expected to just uproot and move because others are gloating over their predicament. Those others would do well to take a balanced view and remember that they too could be living where there are potential transient hazards eg; landslides etc. The cost of sirens is small in the general scheme of things. I too live on high ground, not in Papamoa these days, but I have no objection to expenditure for the common good. Helping each other is the essence of a civil community. Think positive!


Papamoaner

Posted on 16-11-2016 14:01 | By Kenworthlogger

What part of choice do you not understand? People make a choice to live where they do. Did you make the choice of where you live or did the council choose your house for you? We all make choices in this world. We can also make another choice to put your family first and move away from danger. Its called choice.


Beach Living

Posted on 16-11-2016 17:00 | By Jitter

Who opens land for development to developers at the beach ? The councils both TCC and Western Bay do for the income it supposedly generates. We moved to Papamoa in 2003 and built a new house.Prior to making our decision we made in depth enquires about the negatives related to Papamoa. Nobody told us about the strong winds or the tsunami threat. Therefore following "Kenworthbloggers' argument both councils have got a lot to answer for in opening up new land for development and encouraging people to build here.Sirens - For Papamoa , if the right type of siren were installed half a dozen would cover the Mount and Papamoa. Classicflyers have a WWII working siren which is on a trolley on the ground. If I am at home when they fire it up I can hear it clearly.


Jitter

Posted on 16-11-2016 17:34 | By Kenworthlogger

When purchasing a propery it is up to the PURCHASER yes that is you to do their due dilligence. It has nothing to do with the council.


Jitter

Posted on 17-11-2016 11:07 | By Kenworthlogger

When purchasing property it is up to the puchaser to do their due dilligence. You need to work out if it is going to be noisy from traffic or is it going to fall off a cliff or if being right on the beach is it going to be windy or subject to tsunami which is a phenominum that has been around for centuries. Its called using your common sence!


Additional Comment

Posted on 17-11-2016 11:59 | By Jitter

I forgot to say in my last comment that I live 8 kilometres away in a straight line from Classicflyers and can still clearly hear their siren. Here's one for Kenworthblogger. I don't know where he/she lives but they are not immune from tsunami no matter where they live. The case l quote is a rare one. 50,000 years ago a large piece of land fell off a Hawaiin Island. This created a tsunami 6000 feet high which went around the world a number of times. Evidence of this has been found 6000 feet up mountains around the world. So he/she needn't be so smug in crticising people who live near the coast. A very rare event but could occur again any time in a similar fashion or caused by a volcano eg White Island, which would effect millions of the worlds population.


Jitter

Posted on 17-11-2016 13:56 | By Kenworthlogger

I am not being smug or criticising people who live by the beach. What i am saying is they chose to live in their location with all the obvious inherant risks of the area. It is not the councils job to warn or provide warning systems for people who choose to take these obvious risks. Was it the councils fault that people were not warned in Christchurch about earthquakes? No. Neither is it the councils fault if a tsunami happens to warn people etc. It would be a bit like buying a car without airbags and then saying later my car is not as safe as one that do have airbags and now the council should have to put in some sort of system just for people like me to help protect me from the danger i chose to live with.... Common sense does not seem to exist nowdays.


SAD

Posted on 17-11-2016 17:58 | By Number eight

KENWORTHLOGGER .. the council opened up land by the beach to build houses.To me that makes them liable to provide all essential services be it water,sewage,roads and yes sirens.I have lived in my home at the mount,only two streets back from the beach for 40yrs.Hell i didn't even know what a tsunami was untill the boxing day tsunami and more recently the Japanese one.If councils all over NZ open up land by the sea then they are liable to provide all services and health and safety is one of them.So in the meantime if we are hit by a wave and there are countless deaths i take it you'll be sitting where ever you stay and say good job, they made there choice.


Choice of abode

Posted on 17-11-2016 18:24 | By Papamoaner

Papamoa is an easy target for cynics because it is the only one of many vulnerable suburbs, that is presently asking for sirens. All the low lying areas around the inner harbour carry the same risk as Papamoa. You only need to glance at the council's tsunami innundation maps .It's a bit psychological because people seem to think the seafront is more exposed than the inner harbour. In fact, it might even be fair to say the inner harbour is more dangerous because of the vortices created by water pouring through the narrow harbour entrance.That's why sirens will be needed all across Tauranga. not just Papamoa. So discussing where people choose to live is irrelevant.


Weird alerting policies

Posted on 17-11-2016 23:20 | By Papamoaner

What is a bit strange though, is the council saying they can't activate sirens for 50 minutes. They try to tell us that would be too late. Hang on a minute mate - you just told us the earthquake itself is the warning to evacuate. So how come it's not also the warning to activate sirens???Who cares if there's a false alarm? The siren is only sounded to warn us to tune in to a radio station. Better too early than not at all.


Number eight

Posted on 18-11-2016 08:09 | By Kenworthlogger

So do you think Christchurch council should have put in eathquake sirens? Really? You have more chance in this world of being killed by another kiwi in a car accident but you happily jump in your car everyday and accept the risk. Sirens will make no difference. You will never get wiped out by a tsunami in papamoa. Ask centries of Maori.


Additional Comment for Kenworthblogger

Posted on 18-11-2016 09:09 | By Jitter

I forgot to say in my last comment that I live 8 kilometres in a straight line from Classicflyers and can hear their siren. Even Kenworthblogger is not safe wherever they live. This is a very rare occurrence but could occur again if White Island blew up. 50,000 years ago a large chunk of land fell off a Hawaiin island into the sea. It created a tsunami 6,000 feet high which went round the world a number of times. Scientists have found evidence of this all over the world. I agree with Papamoaner and By Number Eight. So hang in there Kenworthblogger you are not safe. TCC and other councils have a lot to answer for . Which means that no land should have been opened up for development anywhere in NZ because of the threat of a major earthquake !!!!


Culture of entitlement

Posted on 18-11-2016 16:23 | By The Tomahawk Kid

Along with your RIGHT to chose where you want to live, comes the RESPONSIBILITY (to yourself and your family) to ensure you are safe - not me. If you chose NOT to exercise that responsibility thats your choice. Your right to chose where you live DOES NOT (or should not) include the right to demand other people PAY for your safety - whether that be Tsunami sirens or a Mountain bike or whatever. You do not (or should not) have the RIGHT to destroy other peoples rights. And demanding they pay for Tsunami sirens is exactly what you are doing! There would be plenty of people living in the Tsunami danger zone who would be happy to VOLUNTARILLY pay or be part of a group dedicated to saving the lives of coastal folk. Its just we have become lazy - easier to demand council do it and others pay.


@ Tomahawk

Posted on 18-11-2016 17:25 | By Papamoaner

Yeah right, lets do away with hospitals, free ambulance, fire brigades, public transport, street lights. Etc.A miserable dog eat dog society might work - for a month or two.


The bottom line here...

Posted on 19-11-2016 12:17 | By morepork

... is that YOU are responsible for the condition YOU are in. If you're worried about a tsunami, don't live by the beach... If you sign up for a text message then go to bed with your phone off, what do you expect? If we connect tsunami warnings to very loud sirens over a wide area, how long will it be before people petition to have them turned off because the frequent false alarms are too irritating? It is fair and reasonable to expect National Civil Defence to issue a warning by normal transmissions (TV, radio, and possibly SMS) it is NOT reasonable to expect the local Council to alert you. You made a choice; live with it.


Gosh what awful attitudes on life and people

Posted on 19-11-2016 14:32 | By Papamoaner

So Morepork, do you also advocate that we should not mount search and rescue for people in trouble who chose to go tramping, mountaineering, boating, flying, etc? Maybe we should forget about MH370 because they CHOSE to travel by air.


It's about saving lives

Posted on 21-11-2016 15:28 | By BennyBenson

I don't live at the beach but I do shop there or eat out there occasionally, and have friends that live there, so a warning system potentially benefits everyone at some time or another. I do not ever want to be standing in the safety of my hill top location watching as a Tsunami wipes out all lives on our coast for the sake of a few measly extra dollars on my property tax, that could have had a decent warning system in place. Get it done and get it done quick.


Nero fiddles while Rome burnt

Posted on 27-11-2016 11:43 | By Cydifor

Air raid sirens sound like the best solution - so just do it! If the earth moves for you then get yourself moving - as far as possible from the sea. I guess not that quick and easy if you have to grab kids, dogs, cats, old neighbour etc. from next door. I live miles away from the water but still have some compassion for those who live in the possible inundation zone!


@Cydifor

Posted on 29-11-2016 13:26 | By Papamoaner

I agree with you on those points. Add to the argument, if we don't have sirens and rely on texting, what happens to all those tourists who don't receive a text, or don't have a cellphone on local nets?Also, what happens to all the people in restaurants, theatres, swimming, gyms, etc? They die because some council bureaucrat decided sirens were not needed.


Papamoaner

Posted on 04-12-2016 12:24 | By Kenworthlogger

Do you also worry about being hit by a meteor? Maybe you need a warning system for this. What about shark attack. Maybe you need a warning system for that? Enjoy life mate. Worrying will kill you!


@kenworthlogger`

Posted on 06-12-2016 11:32 | By Papamoaner

You evidently have difficulty staying on topic.


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