Opinion: Tsunami dangers need heeding

A tsunami evacuation sign in Thailand. Photo/file

A Tauranga-wide tsunami system is creeping closer to fruition.

At a Tauranga City Council workshop, the preferred option of cellphone alerts, public address loudspeakers and in-home devices that operate on a dedicated radio frequency, was discussed.

It's a relief to hear the council is not just going to be relying on cellphone alerts.

Having just come back from a visit to Phuket where I stayed at a beach badly affected by the 2004 tsunami, this has been on my mind a lot. Like in Tauranga, there are signs everywhere in Phuket showing people where to go if an emergency arises.

Since 2004, Thailand has improved its tsunami warning systems (although there have been maintenance issues) and now has a national alert system that includes cellphone messages, radio and television emergency broadcasts, warning towers, local administrators, alerts to all local media and annual evacuation drills.

The multiple forms of alert mean the message is more likely to reach a higher number of people in an emergency.

In November, I was one of many Tauranga residents who slept soundly as 7.5-magnitude earthquake centred near Hanmer Springs rolled through the country.

I was still in the Land of Nod when Civil Defence sent out text messages telling coastal residents to evacuate immediately and continued to snooze as another text message was sent out cancelling the evacuation notice.

It wasn't until my alarm went off at 6am that I became aware of all the drama that had unfolded hours before.

Luckily for us all, a tsunami never eventuated. But if it did, how bad could things have been if the only way to tell people of impending disaster was a text message?

Let's hope the council makes a decision soon and starts rolling out a reliable system - before it's too late.

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