As we write this, the emergency response drill that's closed down the World Trade Center PATH station and surrounding blocks this morning is just coming to an end. And if it's a success you can be sure the next time tragedy strikes, we'll be climbing out of those train tunnels on the New York City side. Why? Because of the total failure of the Office of Emergency Management tests conducted on this side of the river all day Friday.
Highlights from the Jersey Journal:
"The sirens were installed to alert residents in case of a terrorist attack or natural disaster and were placed at mass transit hubs and commercial centers in every municipality in the county... The sirens, which sound like loud horns blaring, were designed to reach 70 decibels... Burns said he wasn't sure what solutions will be tried, either installing more sirens or making the existing ones louder... A total of 31 sirens have been erected in Hudson County, but three of them are not functioning yet...
There are eight sirens in Jersey City, four in Bayonne and one in Hoboken, by the downtown PATH station, and one in Weehawken, by the New York Waterway ferry terminal, as well as elsewhere throughout northern Hudson and Secaucus...
They were funded with a $795,000 Homeland Security grant from 2006... The sirens will alert residents to tune to a yet-to-be-determined AM radio station for further directions."
So let's review. Three years ago Homeland Security gave Hudson County $795,000. With that money the OEM bought 31 sirens. They still haven't plugged in three of them. They still haven't acquired an AM radio frequency to alert people of an emergency. So all they have to show for it are 28 sirens that are designed to be no louder than 70 decibels. You know what's missing from this article? Well, besides who manufactured the sirens, sold them to the OEM, failed to properly install them or why they've never been tested before? The article fails to mention how loud 70 decibels is.

So there you have it. The Office of Emergency Management spent $795,000 of taxpayer money on sirens that can't be heard over a hairdryer, dishwasher or blender. But they're not a total failure, everyone in the county heard how ineffective this drill was almost immediately.