Tsunami sirens will be working next month

"PACIFICA, Calif. (KGO) -- Repair work begins Monday on broken tsunami warning sirens in San Mateo County.  Last week, the county discovered that five out of eight sirens do not work. Those sirens are supposed to provide tsunami warnings along roughly 30 miles of coastline from Pacifica to Pescadero.

Don't worry, we're good next month

County officials say repair work should be finished by early September. Until then, extra police and sheriff's deputies will be on-hand to alert the public in the event of a disaster. Text alerts, emails and telephone warnings will also be used in case of emergency."  ABC 7 (KGO-TV, San Francisco), Peninsula  News, 8/12/13.  "Repairs begin on San Mateo County tsunami sirens."

....   "We have enough stuff in place in case a tsunami does happen," said Don Mattei, supervising district coordinator for the emergency services office. "We feel confident we can get the warning out."

A controversy was sparked among coastside residents when the sirens weren't sounded during a tsunami scare in March 2011. After seeing the smallish waves sent toward California by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan, killing nearly 16,000 people, locals officials decided the sirens would prompt an unnecessary evacuation. However, some residents believed it was better to be on the safe side and sound the alarms."   San Mateo County Times/Joshua Melvin, 8/10/13. "San Mateo County tsunami sirens not working, to be replaced."

Note:  Graphic from "Not even a tshirt", Veronica's personal blog. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh