11:45 A.M.

This is one of those short and simple posts:

I was just reminded that Kauai’s civil defense sirens are tested on the first working day of every month at 11:45 a.m. with a continuous 1-minute tone. The sirens are located along the coasts and in populated areas inland to warn people of tsunamis mostly, but also hurricanes. I live a mile (1.6 km) inland and about 1/3 mile (5oo m) from the nearest siren, and could hear them just now.

I say theoretically because I do not think their has been a real threat since they have been implemented. A real emergency such as an immenent tsunami detected by offshore buoys would be signaled with a continuous 3-minute siren. If you hear such a long siren, you should immediately evacuate to higher ground, usually by driving inland.

The front of every phone book has several pages of disaster preparedness information. This includes 3 pages of instructions about types of dangers, preparations kits, evacuation procedures, and crude maps of low-lying areas likely to be hit and/or flooded. The Kauai civil defense website has much more detailed maps with shelter locations, and some disaster preparedness information through the links on the far left-hand side.

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