I read with incredulous amusement the council's needlessly complex and confusing tsunami warning system proposals. Many suggestions are laughable. Who is going to knock on doors when a tsunami is rolling in from White Island? How can we use phone trees when an earthquake has hit and the phone lines are jammed or obstructed? Please don't ask me to drive the streets with a loud hailer while the waves are rolling in.
Wouldn't it be more sensible to sound a recognisable siren sequence as a signal to turn on TV and or radio to seek further information? Educate people about this and there will be no panic. In the event of an earthquake, however, a big problem which requires immediate attention is access in and out of the coastal areas as all the warning in the world is useless if we have nowhere to go quickly.
Japan and the catastrophe there has been our wake-up call, the question is will our council rise to the challenge and provide us with a simple practical plan to save our lives?
H Bentley, Papamoa.