Some residents complain about not hearing noises

No, Balboa Pier visitors, those sirens and voices you heard weren’t in your head.

More than a dozen city personnel were spread across a 1.5-mile radius from Balboa Pier on Thursday to gauge the effectiveness and necessity of a tsunami warning system along the peninsula, fire department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz said.

Vendors tested their siren’s tone and verbal alert systems for up to three minutes each for almost two hours Thursday afternoon. Some residents complained they could not hear the sirens and voices because of the wind, Schulz said.

The alerts are designed to be heard throughout the Balboa Peninsula, Balboa Island, portions of Corona del Mar and other areas within a mile of the pier, officials said.

City officials have not committed to purchasing a system, or to where they would place the sirens, Schulz said.

— Joseph Serna