Alarm mistaken for tsunami alert

By Carly Udy
After hearing a "whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop", Melvyn and Lola Curry bolted into the darkness and frantically knocked on the doors of their neighbours.
A tsunami was coming - or was it?
The Currys, along with their neighbours June and Phil Trott, are angry that despite assurances from Civil Defence officials, they couldn't distinguish between the tsunami warning siren and a building alarm that sounded on Sunday night.
The foursome are calling for more tsunami siren testings and another tsunami siren base in Mount Maunganui - on top of the RSA.
The Currys and the Trotts are not alone. Police received several calls on Sunday night and Monday morning from the public who had heard an alarm, some of them believing it may have been related to a tsunami.
But Civil Defence said no such warning was issued and the alarm heard was a building security alarm, somewhere around Valley Rd and Range Rd.
The Currys, who live in MacVille Rd's RSA Village, said the alarm heard at 8pm on Sunday was identical to that which was tested by Civil Defence in May and June, and called 111.
The couple are dismayed at how the two alarms could sound so alike.
"My wife heard it, she said 'Oh, the tsunami alarm's going,' so we went outside, had a listen, knocked on three or four of the neighbour's doors and yes, they all thought it was, so I rang 111.
"It was just like the alarm they've got down at Bayfair, just sort of a whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop thing," Mr Curry said.
Mr Trott said he and his wife were half way through watching the TV programme Inspector Morse when the Currys banged on their door, telling them to get outside and investigate.
They say the siren lasted for 10 minutes and were only reassured after the Trotts' son made inquiries from his Papamoa home.
The area's manager for emergency management, Barry Lowe, said he was becoming increasingly frustrated at the public mistaking everyday alarms for a tsunami alerts.
Last month some residents mistook a car alarm for a tsunami warning.
" There are some concerned people out there but there's gotta be a bit of commonsense involved as well," he said.
Mr Lowe said the rescue co-ordination centre "got in on the act" after Auckland's police control centre received four calls from concerned Bay residents. Western Bay of Plenty District Council received three calls - all from one person.
"The tsunami siren has a distinct (droning) sound ... It will go on and on and on, and the recommended action is that if you hear this, turn on your radio, turn on your TV and you'll get updated information," Mr Lowe said.
"The other important point is that the sirens do not sound in isolation. If we were going to sound them, police would be well aware as they are one of the organisations authorised to activate the system. They (the public) moan and groan about not being able to hear them, now the minute a siren does go off they complain because it's going. We can't win, we're damned if we do and damned if we don't."