Maui wildfire: Top official resigns amid criticism over fire sirens
What's the story
In a major development, Maui County Emergency Management Administrator Herman Andaya resigned from his post on Thursday.
The move came amid widespread criticism from local residents and the media in Hawaii, an island state in the United States (US), over his response to the deadly wildfires that have claimed over 100 lives.
As per reports, Andaya cited health reasons for his resignation.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The island state possesses one of the world's largest siren warning systems, but on that fatal day, the 80 alarms on Maui remained silent.
Residents told the media that if the sirens had sounded, it would have provided an important warning of the impending danger.
Reuters reported that Andaya's agency decided against using the fire siren as it would have been confusing and ineffective.
Details
Maui county mayor provides update on situation
While confirming Andaya's resignation, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen assured that the "key position" will be filled quickly and the new emergency management administrator will be announced soon.
"Given the gravity of the crisis we are facing, my team and I will be placing someone in this key position as quickly as possible, and I look forward to making that announcement soon," Bissen said.
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Andaya earlier defended move not to sound sirens
Interestingly, Andaya's resignation also comes a day after he defended the move not to ring the sirens in Maui.
"We were afraid that people would have gone mauka, the Associated Press quoted Andaya as saying, using a navigational term in Hawaiian that can mean toward the mountains or inland."
"If that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire," he added.
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Know about fire siren system in Maui
Andaya went on to say that the sirens are mostly used to alert people when a tsunami is approaching.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Maui's sophisticated system consists of 80 sirens located all over the island and is tested on the first of every month.
It is learned that the sirens sound for 60 seconds.
Further information
Death toll in Maui wildfire reaches 110: Official
Meanwhile, the official death toll in the ongoing Maui wildfires reached 110. Confirming the numbers, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said during a conference on Wednesday that the state attorney general had been commissioned to investigate the response work.
CNN reported that survivors who were forced to seek refuge in the ocean demanded explanations as to why no sirens sounded when the fire broke out.