The Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency is making strides to improve the state’s emergency alert system by installing two dozen new sirens by the end of this year.
This initiative comes in response to ongoing concerns from residents who reported that many existing sirens have been either faint or completely inaudible, as experienced during the recent tsunami warning on July 29.
Randolph Hack, a Pālolo resident, emphasized the urgency of the situation, commenting that living with non-functional sirens has become “intolerable,” particularly in light of the recent deadly wildfires on Maui and the constant threat posed by natural disasters.
Statewide, it has been revealed that more than 18% of Hawaiʻi’s 421 warning sirens are either broken or need repairs, with Oʻahu’s situation being slightly worse.
According to data from the state’s recent siren test on August 1, many residents across Oʻahu, particularly in neighborhoods such as Pacific Palisades and Mākaha, have echoed Hack’s frustrations about the ineffectiveness of their local sirens.
The all-hazards sirens were established following devastating tsunamis that struck the Big Island in 1946 and 1960 and are designed not only to alert residents of tsunamis but also to warn them about wildfires and other hazards.
Despite the advent of new emergency notification technologies like text alerts, which play an essential role in the emergency response system, the sirens provide a critical layer of safety, especially for residents without access to televisions or mobile phones, assuming the sirens are functional.
Currently, Oʻahu has 147 sirens that are fully operational.
However, 26 additional sirens require repairs and nine are beyond repair, as indicated by the state’s tri-colored siren dashboard.
Sirens labeled in black indicate they are completely non-functional and need replacement; those in red are highly inoperative and necessitate outside contractors to repair; while sirens designated in yellow remain somewhat operational but still have issues, which can be addressed by state personnel, as explained by James Barros, the state’s emergency management administrator.
Specifically, the siren in Pālolo has been in disrepair for two years, and during the recent tsunami warning, Hack could barely hear any warning amidst the audible chaos from sirens citywide.
The nearest working siren is located on Wilhelmina Rise, about half a mile from the Pālolo siren, yet it too is one of the 24 sirens statewide that require complete replacement due to malfunction.
Furthermore, there are significant gaps in functioning sirens in coastal regions, which contravenes efficient alert systems in communities across Oʻahu, including areas on the Westside near Mākaha and along the Windward Coast.
Two years ago, the situation was even worse, with 92 sirens needing repairs or complete replacements, compared to 78 currently.
In response to the wildfires, state lawmakers allocated $10 million over the last two years to initiate siren modernization projects.
At present, there are 343 operational sirens in the state of Hawaiʻi.
Installation of a new siren comes at a cost of about $100,000.
Despite the ongoing repairs and replacements, the aging technology of these sirens leads to more complications, as more units become inoperative due to factors like age, wear-and-tear, or vandalism.
In recent years, components such as batteries and copper wiring of the sirens have been targeted by thieves, exacerbating the existing issues.
In addition, counties across Hawaiʻi maintain their own mobile text alert systems, which require residents to subscribe to receive notifications.
Emergency management officials encourage registration for these alerts as a supplementary feature of the alert system.
However, unlike the federal emergency alert system that transmits messages via radio and television broadcasts, the local text systems require users to opt-in, significantly limiting the reach.
In Oʻahu, approximately 90,000 residents—about 9% of the city’s nearly 1 million population—have enrolled in the HNL Alerts text messaging system, which is not widespread.
Moreover, depending on cellular connectivity, alerts can falter, as seen during the wildfire that devastated Lahaina, creating substantial communication challenges during evacuation.
Following the tsunami warning in July and the recent fires, the necessity for robust alert systems has become a critical point of discussion for residents like Hack, reflecting the vulnerabilities faced by communities such as Pālolo, where cell service is spotty and many residents are elderly and lack smartphones.
“I know there are other means of alerting, but this was a confusing episode,” Hack said, highlighting the complexities surrounding the recent tsunami warning.
The state may need to shoulder more financial responsibility for siren maintenance in the years to come, especially since federal funding designated for siren upkeep has faced cuts under the Trump administration.
Barros noted ongoing efforts to relocate sirens further inland, aiming to mitigate risks posed by potential tsunami waves.
Furthermore, the emergency management department is exploring acquiring larger, more powerful sirens that can cover wider areas more effectively.
In response to the August 2023 wildfires, the state has also deployed mobile sirens in West Maui, with plans to position them in areas lacking operational sirens and high-threat zones once the permanent sirens are restored in West Maui.
image source from：civilbeat
