WaPo: Maui’s emergency management chief, Herman Andaya, has resigned
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Aug 18 '23, 06:03
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Maui emergency chief quits amid criticism for not deploying siren alerts
By Adela Suliman and Andrea Salcedo
August 18, 2023 at 6:16 a.m. EDT
Maui’s emergency management chief, Herman Andaya, has resigned a day after facing mounting public criticism for not activating public alert sirens as devastating wildfires raged across swaths of the Hawaiian island.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said he has “accepted the resignation of Maui Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Administrator Herman Andaya. Citing health reasons, Andaya submitted his resignation effective immediately.”
“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,” Bissen added.
Outdoor alert sirens are widespread on Maui, and residents have grown used to hearing them activated for regular testing in anticipation of public emergencies such as tsunamis and earthquakes. However, many residents have criticized the decision by Andaya’s agency not to active the sirens as the wildfires were raging, saying it cost lives — especially those in the devastated historic town of Lahaina.
So far, at least 111 people have died in the Hawaii wildfires, the deadliest in the United States in a century. Officials warn that the final death toll is expected to climb.
Despite growing public criticism, Andaya was steadfast in defending his decision Wednesday, a day before he resigned. Asked by reporters if he had any regrets about not deploying the public siren system, he replied: “I do not.”
He said he feared the sirens were “used primarily” for tsunamis and that there was a risk that activating them in this instance would have sent people fleeing to higher ground. “If that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire,” he said. Maui instead relied on alerts sent by text messages and broadcasts on television and radio, he added.
The public siren system has been in place since a deadly tsunami hit Hawaii in April 1946, killing more than 150 people. Officials established the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and alert system in response, “the first tsunami warning system in the U.S.,” according to the Hawaii government.
- WaPo (www.washingtonpost.com)
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