The tsunami warning siren at Waiwera will be deactivated and decommissioned on 1 December, but the newly installed sirens in Orewa will remain.

Auckland Emergency Management General Manager, Paul Amaral, says the preferred method of notifying the public during an emergency is via the Emergency Mobile Alert on cell phones.

“The sirens are prone to attacks by vandals or are stolen, so they are not reliable, whereas the EMA is an effective and reliable way to alert the public to a tsunami threat,” says Paul.

Auckland Council’s Civil Defence and Emergency Management Committee chairperson, Cllr Sharon Stewart agreed, and says Aucklanders are used to the sound of the EMA to alert them to danger, as “they’ve experienced this through the pandemic and this year’s extreme weather events.”

The two sirens installed in Orewa in 2020 will remain. 

The other sirens that will be deactivated are situated at Point Wells, Whangateau, Omaha, Hobsonville, Herald Island, Bethells/Te Hanga, Piha, Karekare, Whatipū, Huia and Te Atatū.