Gov. Linda Lingle has released $8 million to finance an upgrade of Hawai'i's disaster warning system. The money will be used to upgrade existing civil defense sirens and install new solar-powered sirens throughout the state, focusing on tsunami inundation zones.

"Sirens are an effective tool for alerting the public in emergencies," Lingle said today in a press release. "It is imperative that we have a comprehensive and up-to-date system in place to support state Civil Defense in responding to disasters and keeping our residents and visitors safe."

Earlier this year, state Civil Defense identified the need for 249 sirens to be installed or replaced statewide. This allotment will be used to finance the installation of approximately 96 high-priority sirens located in tsunami inundation zones. Additional project funding will be requested in the future to replace obsolete sirens and add warning sirens at the remaining sites.

Construction is scheduled to begin in November 2008 and be completed in December 2009.