County officials in Honolulu have filed a lawsuit stating that if emergency responders had been aware of the extensive cellphone outages during the peak of the devastating Maui wildfires last summer, they would have utilized alternative methods to alert the public about the impending disaster.
The lawsuit claims that the county was unaware that the alerts sent to cellphones, instructing people to evacuate immediately, were never received.
Related posts
Maui officials neglected to activate the sirens, which could have alerted the entire population about the approaching flames. This has led to concerns regarding the extent of efforts made to inform the public in a state that boasts an intricate emergency warning system for various threats, such as wars, volcanoes, hurricanes, and wildfires.
Maui county officials have filed a lawsuit in state court against Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, Spectrum Mobile, and AT&T. The officials allege that these major cellular carriers were negligent in failing to adequately inform the Maui police about the widespread service outages.
T-Mobile expressed its ongoing support for the Maui community as it recovers from the devastating fires. However, the company vehemently denied the baseless claims made against them. In a statement released on Thursday, T-Mobile clarified that they had successfully transmitted wireless emergency alerts to their customers, even as their sites remained operational. They also promptly notified customers about the outages and swiftly reached out to state and local emergency agencies and services.
The Spectrum representative chose not to comment, while the other carriers did not respond immediately to an email from The Associated Press requesting comment.
Since the deadliest wildfire in over a century devastated the historic town of Lahaina and claimed the lives of 101 individuals, numerous lawsuits have been filed.
Maui County faces several lawsuits regarding its emergency response to the fires, while also taking legal action against the Hawaiian Electric Company. The county argues that the utility company negligently neglected to cut off power, despite the presence of strong winds and dry conditions.
Lawyers representing Maui have taken legal action against the cell carriers, arguing that if the county is held responsible for any damages, it is because the conduct of the cell carriers played a significant role in causing those damages.
The lawsuit stated that on August 8 and August 9, 2023, as the County’s brave first responders fought fires on the island and worked tirelessly to provide aid and evacuate people to safety, the County made sure to notify those in the vicinity of the danger through multiple alerts and warnings. This included sending direct text messages to individual cell phones.
According to the lawsuit, the county issued a minimum of 14 alert messages to residents’ cellphones, urging them to evacuate. It was later found that all 21 cell towers in West Maui, including those in Lahaina, completely failed.
According to the lawsuit, the Cell Carriers have not fulfilled their obligation to report the full extent of the cell service outages on August 8 and August 9, 2023, as required by federal law. If the Cell Carriers had provided accurate reports to the County, detailing the widespread failure of numerous cell sites across the island, the County would have implemented alternative strategies in its disaster and warning response.
