ISLAMABAD Aug 17 (Online): Embattled officials in Hawaii who have been criticised for the lack of warnings as a deadly wildfire ripped through a town insisted on Wednesday that sounding emergency sirens would not have saved lives.<\/p>\n
At least 110 people died when the inferno levelled Lahaina last week on the island of Maui, with some residents not aware their town was at risk until they saw flames for themselves.<\/p>\n
But the head of Maui\u2019s Emergency Management Agency, which operates a network of 80 sirens, on Wednesday defended the decision not to sound them as fire bore down on Lahaina\u2019s more than 12,000 people.
\n\u201cThe sirens are used primarily for tsunamis. The public is trained to seek higher ground in the event that the siren is sounded,\u201d Herman Andaya told a press conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad we sounded the siren that night, we\u2019re afraid that people would have gone (into the hills)\u2026 into the fire.\u201d
\nCriticism has swelled since the disaster, with survivors complaining there were no official warnings, with the mobile phone networks and electricity supply knocked out, limiting the channels by which alerts are usually delivered.<\/p>\n
Andaya on Wednesday queried whether anyone would have noticed if the sirens had blared their 121-decibel warning \u2014 a level the American Academy of Audiology says is equivalent to a jet plane taking off.
\n\u201cA lot of people who are indoors, air conditioning on whatever the case may be, they\u2019re not going to hear the siren,\u201d he said. \u201cPlus the winds were very gusty (that day) \u2026 it was very loud, so they wouldn\u2019t have heard the sirens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if he regretted the decision not to activate the system, he replied: \u201cI do not.\u201d
\nHawaii\u2019s Governor Josh Green last week ordered a probe into the before-during-and-after of the tragedy, to see if lessons can be learned.
\nSurvivors have complained that the government has been slow to help them; that the body recovery is inching along, and that they are being prevented from going back to their homes.<\/p>\n
Disaster officials have bristled at suggestions local people have lost trust in them, insisting it is outsiders who are complaining.
\n\u201cYou think that people that live here that are helping don\u2019t care?\u201d said Maui Mayor Richard Bissen at a sometimes-testy news conference.
\n\u201cTalk to the people born and raised here. Talk to the people who are trying to piece it together. The reason you should trust us is because this is our home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over a third of the disaster zone has now been searched by specially trained dogs, and the death toll is expected to continue to rise as they work through the remainder.
\n\u201cThis is a really difficult search operation,\u201d Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dogs have to navigate the heat. They have to deal with issues with their paws walking through glass and debris and in these conditions. The dogs require frequent rest.
\n\u201cI want to be honest with everyone: this is also going to be a very long and hard recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only a handful of bodies recovered from Lahaina have been identified so far, two of whom were named by Maui County officials as Robert Dyckman, 74, and 79-year-old Buddy Jantoc, both from Lahaina.
\nExperts in forensic pathology, some of whom worked in the aftermath of the 9\/11 attacks, have flown to Maui, as efforts are stepped up to identify remains.<\/p>\n
Authorities on the island have begun collecting DNA samples from people whose relatives are missing. But the presence of so many tourists was a further complicating factor, and could necessitate a much larger network for capturing samples, said Adam Weintraub of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to establish some kind of system where if you have family who are vacationing on Maui and you haven\u2019t been able to contact them, you can go to your local police station\u201d to give a sample, he said.
\nThe White House said US President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will \u201cmeet with first responders, survivors, as well as federal, state, and local officials\u201d in Maui on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remain committed to delivering everything the people of Hawaii need as they recover from this disaster,\u201d the president wrote on social media.
\nBiden had quickly declared a major disaster in Hawaii after last week\u2019s inferno, allowing the deployment of emergency assistance from the federal government.<\/p>\n
But he has been criticised by the Republican opposition for what they characterized as a timid response to the fires.
\nThe White House said emergency officials had advised that \u201csearch and recovery efforts are expected to be at a stage early next week to allow for a presidential visit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Aug 17 (Online): Embattled officials in Hawaii who have been criticised for the lack of warnings as a deadly wildfire ripped through a town insisted on Wednesday that sounding emergency sirens would not have saved lives. At least 110 people died when the inferno […]<\/p>\n
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